Welcome back. We have talked before a little bit about conjugating verbs, but I've only told you a few conjugations. We haven't yet gone over how to conjugate verbs, so that's what today's lesson is going to be. In order to use any verb in Korean, it must first be conjugated or changed from its dictionary form or The form that you would see it as if you found it in the dictionary.
This dictionary form, as I said in a previous lesson, will always end with 다. For example, we learned the verbs 가다 to go as 가요, 먹다 to eat 먹어요, 좋아하다 to like as 좋아해요, 보다 to see as 보아요, 이다 to be as 이에요 or 에요. But these are just one conjugated form, and there are others that we'll have to learn about in the future too.
So let's talk a bit about that. What is a conjugated verb? Well, each verb in Korean can have multiple possible ways of conjugating it depending on how you're using it.
For example, let's just look at a few conjugations for one verb 먹다, to eat. In present tense formal form you can have 먹습니다. Past tense formal 먹었습니다. Future tense formal 먹겠습니다. Present tense informal 먹어요, which is the one that we learned.
Past tense informal, 먹었어요. I ate. Future tense informal, 먹을 거예요. I will eat. Present tense casual, 먹어.
Past tense casual, 먹 었어. And future tense casual, 먹을 거야. There can be dozens and dozens of possible ways to conjugate or change a verb from its dictionary form into a different form. But don't let that list scare you. As I said, you only need to learn each...
form once, and you can apply that to every verb, which makes it really nice. And we've actually already learned one conjugated grammar form, 고 싶다, which if you remember is attaching 고 싶다 to a verb stem and conjugating 싶다, which we've used as just 싶어요. So 가다 would become 가고 싶어요, 먹고 싶어요, 보고 싶어요, 마시고 싶어요, like that.
And this form that we've used for a few verbs is known as present tense informal. Present because it's happening right now in the present, informal because it's not formal. And here are some more examples of that.
가다 to go becoming 가요. 먹다 becoming 먹어요. 좋아하다 becoming 좋아해요.
보다 becoming 보아요. And 이다 becoming 이에요 or 예요. Present tense just means that it's happening in the present so not in the past or the future, and informal means it's not formal. Now informal can be used with anyone you're not close friends with, but should not be used in a formal situation like giving a speech, or meeting a boss, or someone like that.
So an example of this present tense informal form would be the sentence 저는 피자를 좋아해요. I like pizza. Present tense, like, right now. And it's informal, it's not impolite, but it's not formal. So you wouldn't want to say this when you need to be extra formal.
but you're also not being rude by saying 좋아해요. Later we will talk about past tense and future tense, as well as how to speak formally and more casually, but right now let's just focus on this form. What we're going to be learning here is what's called the 요 form. Now the 요 form by itself is an informal ending. It's not rude, but it's not overly formal.
And we've used it in all of the conjugations that we've learned so far, as you can see three here. In this lesson we're going to learn How to make the Yule form so that we can easily learn new verbs and conjugate them and use them in our own sentences. And specifically, we're going to be using the Yule form in the present tense. So to say, I do something, not I did something or will do something.
We'll learn those in a future lesson. So let's talk about how to make the Yule form, and the basic steps are as follows. Step one, get the verb stem of a verb. Step two, if that verb stem ends in 아 or 오 as its vowel, attach the syllable 아. Or if that verb stem ends with any other vowel, attach the syllable 어.
And step three, attach 요 to the end. But these are just the basic rules and not everything will follow these, and we'll talk about that in a bit. So for example, let's take the verb 안다, which is to sit down. Notice that due to sound change rules this is pronounced as 안다. If the verb stem is 안, well it has the vowel 아, so we're going to be attaching 아.
And now we get 앉아. 앉아. And finally we attach 요 to that. 앉아요. So you could make this sentence 저는, as for me, 앉아요.
저는 앉아요. I sit down. So let's do some simple practice though first.
Let's look at the verb 먹다, to eat. The verb stem of 먹다 is 먹. Now 어 is not the vowel 아 or 오, so we're going to attach the syllable 어. 먹어. Now we attach 요.
먹어요. 먹어요. Now we have a conjugated verb and we can make this sentence.
저는 피자를 먹어요. I eat pizza. The next example is 만들다.
To make. 만들다's verb stem is 만들. 들 does not end in the vowel 아 or 오, so we're going to attach the syllable 어.
만들어. And then we attach 요 and we get 만들어요. So we can make this sentence.
저는 케이크를 만들어요. I make cake. 저는 케이크를 만들어요.
So I mentioned there are some exceptions, however, these exceptions are all to make things easier for you, and many of them again will happen naturally. But we still need to cover them, and in fact once you've got these exceptions down, you're going to be a master at conjugating any verb to this 요 form. So our first exception is whenever the verb stem ends with a vowel.
By that I mean there are no consonants on the bottom. It simply ends with a vowel and that's it. Two letters, one consonant and one vowel.
So whenever that happens, the syllable 아 or the syllable 어 that you would normally attach will actually combine into the final syllable of that verb. So, 가다. Well the verb stem of 가다 is 가. which ends in a vowel and has no other consonants at the bottom.
Since 가 ends with the vowel 아, we're going to attach the syllable 아, 가아. However, 가아 does end with a vowel, so we can combine the 아 syllable into 가, and we just get 가요. So we can get this sentence as an example. 저는 가요. I go.
We don't need to say 저는 가아요. So this is an example of a rule that makes the words easier to pronounce because it's not necessary to add on that extra sound when it already ends in a vowel. Our next example is with the verb 부다, to see. The verb stem of 부다 is 부. 부 ends with the vowel 오, so we're going to attach 아, 부아.
However, 부 ends with a vowel and no other consonants on the bottom, so 부아 can combine to become 보아, 보아. as one syllable. Then we attach 요 and we get 봐요.
저는 TV를 봐요. I watch TV. Now this rule is quite common, so I have two more verbs that I'm going to show you. 마시다, to drink, and 배우다, to learn.
First, 마시다. 마시 is the verb stem, 마시 ends with a vowel and no consonants at the bottom, but let's first look at that vowel. Well, 시 is not 아 or 오, so we're going to attach the syllable 어.
마시어. But since it ends in a vowel with no additional consonants on the bottom, we can combine the 시 into the 어 and we get 마셔. 마셔요.
So we can have a sentence like this. 저는 차를 마셔요. I drink tea. Tea is 차.
저는 차를 마셔요. And next with 폐우다. 폐우다. To learn, well 배우, 우 doesn't end with an 아 or an 오, so we're going to attach 어. 배우어.
But it does end with just a vowel and no other consonants, so we can get 배우어, 배워, attaching 요 we get 배워요. 배워요. So we can have a sentence like this.
저는 한국어를 배워요. I learned the Korean language. 저는 한국어를 배워요.
Our next exception is whenever the verb stem ends with the vowel 에. Now there are not a lot of these, but it's still quite a common thing that you'll see. For example, 보내다.
Anytime that you have a verb stem that ends with only the vowel 에, simply add 요. So the verb stem of 보내다 is 보내, you just attach 요 and you get 보내요. Now this rule is actually related to the previous one because saying 보내 어요 would be a bit long, so they just shorten it to 보내요.
So you can say 저는 이메일을 보내요. I send an email. The next exception happens whenever you have a verb stem that ends with the vowel ㅡ.
And there are a couple extra steps you have to do. First of all, get the verb stem. Second, remove the ㅡ. Next you have to look at the second to last syllable in that verb stem.
So you'll attach the vowel ㅏ or ㅓ just like before. But if there's only one syllable, attach ㅓ. And finally attach ㅛ to the end.
So let's take the example of 쓰다, the verb that means to write or to use. 쓰다, the verb stem is 쓰. Well that ends in the vowel 어, so we're going to remove 어.
Now since there is no second to last syllable, we just attach the vowel 어, 써. Then finally we add 요, 써요. I use a pen. 저는 펜을 써요.
And here's another example of that form with the verb 바쁘다, to be busy. Now this is not an action verb, but I still think we should look at it. So, 바쁘 would be the verb stem.
Ends with ㅡ, we remove the ㅡ. Now we look at the second to last syllable which is 바. It ends with ㅏ.
So we're going to attach ㅏ and we get 바빠. Attaching 요 at the end and we get 바빠요. 저는 바빠요.
I am busy. 바쁘다 is what's known as a descriptive verb, not an action verb, because it's being used to describe things. We will learn about descriptive verbs in more detail in a future lesson, but for right now this one's good enough.
There are a few more exceptions we're going to cover, but first I just want to give a disclaimer. These rules are all for your benefit. They do help make the language easier and faster to pronounce.
Many of these exceptions would just happen naturally by trying to speak quickly. So you don't, again, have to memorize these rules, just kind of... practice them and know that they exist.
And finally, let's just imagine that instead of saying 가요, you had to say 가아요. Well, it might be easier to conjugate as a beginner, to make 가아요, because it follows the standard rules. But when you start speaking Korean more, it'll be more frustrating to have to add on these unnecessary sounds when you can just combine them and make it faster. The same applies to 보다 becoming 보아요.
보아요, 봐요. As well as 마시다, 마시어요. 마셔요.
쓰다, 써요. 써요. So a lot of these rules are just intuitive. They just make sense. Our next exception has to do with verb stems ending with the syllable 르.
Specifically this syllable 르. There are a few extra steps you have to do. Step one is remove the ㅡ just like we did before. Step two, attach another to the bottom of the second to last syllable. Then look at that second to last syllable and attach the vowel 아 or 어 just like we did before.
And finally attach 요. So let's take for an example 부르다 meaning to sing. 부르다, the verb stem is 부르 which ends in 르.
So we're going to remove the 어 from that and we get just, well you can't really pronounce it but it's this. Then we look at the second to last syllable which is 부. 부 has the vowel 우 which is not the vowel 아 or 어. so we're going to attach 어. However before we do that we also have to add a duplicate to the bottom of 부.
So we get 불러요. 불러요. So you can get this sentence. 빌리는, as for Billy, 노래를, a song, 노래를 불러요. Billy sings a song.
The next exception happens whenever you have a verb stem that ends with the consonant For this, You have to first remove the then attach the sound 에, not just the vowel 에, but specifically the sound 에 after the final syllable of that verb stem. Combine this with the last syllable, then attach 요. I'll give you an example of that.
그렇다, pronounced as 그렇다 due to sound change rules, which means to be so. Now you don't need to learn this verb yet, but for this the verb stem is 그렇다. So we're going to remove the Now we're just left with Well, attach ㅔ to that final vowel. So 그래, 그래, and then attach 요.
그래 요, 그래 요. Notice I didn't say attach just the vowel ㅔ, but it's more the sound of ㅔ. Because here it was but now it's being replaced to become 그래. So you could say something like 그것은. As for that thing, as for that, 그래요.
That thing is so. Like, it is so. It is like that. We'll talk about how to use 그렇다 in a future lesson, but for now just use it for learning these conjugation rules.
The next exception to the rule is 하다, the verb 하다. Or in fact, anytime you have a verb that ends with 하다. We've only used so far 좋아하다, to like.
Anytime 하다 is at the end of a verb, it will simply conjugate to 해 followed by 요, 해요. That's how we got previously 좋아해요 from 좋아하다. 좋아하다 ends with 하다, so 하다 becomes 해. So you get 좋아해 plus 요 and you get 좋아해요.
So you can make the sentence 저는 요리를 좋아해요. 요리 meaning cooking, I like cooking. Now we'll learn more about 하다 in a future lesson, but 하다 can also mean to do. So if you were to say 요리를 하다, to do cooking, well that's one way to say to cook in Korean.
And our next exception is one of the most common ones that you'll see, and that's whenever the verb stem ends with this letter known as You'll have to do a few things for that. This is only a rule that happens most of the time. Not every single time, but most of the time. Remove the Step two, attach the whole syllable 우. Then attach 어 and combine it with 우, so you'll get 우어.
And finally attach 요 to the end. So let's look at an example, 맵다, meaning to be spicy, like the food is spicy. 맵다.
For this, the verb stem is 맵. So we're going to remove the at the bottom and we're just left with 매. Since we removed that, we're now going to attach the syllable 우 as well as 어 and combine it. So we get 매워, now add 요, 매워요.
So you can make this sentence, 김치는 As for 김치, 매워요. 김치는 매워요. 김치 is spicy.
And I want to give you a few more examples of this exception because it's so common. And the first one is 부럽다. 부럽다 meaning to be jealous.
So for this one, 부럽다 becomes 부럽, which ends in a So we remove the attach 우, and we get 부러우. Now we attach 어, 부러워. And finally 요, 부러워요.
So you could say 저는 부러워요. I am jealous. Next we have 춥다 meaning to be cold as in the weather is cold. 춥다 also has its verb stem ending with 비읍.
So we remove that and we're left with just 추. Now we attach 우, 추우. Next 어 which combines with the 우 so we get 추워.
Now finally attach 요. 추워요. 추워요.
So we can make this sentence. 저는 추워요. Meaning I am cold as in I feel cold from the weather.
I should say there are some verbs that are an exception to this rule that don't conjugate this way. For those ones you simply just conjugate them the very first way that we learned before any exceptions. So all you have to learn is if a verb is an exception or not. And most of the time it will follow this rule.
Before we go though, I want to give you some notes. And the first one is just don't stress about these conjugations. Don't try to master them by watching this video.
I will give you plenty of examples throughout these lessons to practice with different verbs, and you'll get the hang of them. Also, remember that most conjugation exceptions will make verbs easier and faster for you to pronounce. They are only here to help.
Now, there are some exceptions, which are called irregular verbs, which do not follow any of these rules. and we'll learn those later as they come up, but you don't have to worry about them. For example, a really common exception is the verb 이다, to be, which becomes 이에요 or 예요, and that doesn't follow any of the rules that we've learned.
Also, another kind of common exception is sometimes, about half of the time, verb stems that end with the consonant will sometimes change to become a Now you don't need to memorize that rule because it only happens about half of the time, and the other half it doesn't. And finally, some verbs in Korean will just have their own way of conjugating that don't follow any rules at all. There are only a few of those, and whenever we come across them I will definitely mention them to you. So we've just finished learning all about verb conjugations for the present tense informal form, and now you can conjugate pretty much any verb that you're going to come across in Korean. Practice what you've seen today, and I will see you again in the next lesson where we will learn even more things.
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