Korean Grammar Guide for Foreigners

This comprehensive guide explains Korean grammar fundamentals with clear patterns and examples for non-native speakers.

Korean Vowels

Bright Vowels (양성 모음)

ㅏ ㅑ ㅗ ㅛ

  • Sound brighter when pronounced
  • Many words with bright meanings use these
  • Example: 행복하다 (to be happy)

Dark Vowels (음성 모음)

ㅓ ㅕ ㅜ ㅠ

  • Sound deeper when pronounced
  • Many words with dim meanings use these
  • Example: 우울하다 (to be depressed)

Neutral Vowels (중성 모음)

ㅡ ㅣ

This classification matters for verb conjugation!

Basic Word Types

Verbs (~다)

Action words:

  • 하다 (do)
  • 주다 (give)
  • 받다 (receive)
  • 먹다 (eat)
  • 가다 (go)
  • 오다 (come)

Adjectives (~다)

Descriptive words (function like verbs in Korean):

  • 좋다 (be good)
  • 이쁘다 (be pretty)
  • 크다 (be big)
  • 있다 (exist/have)

Connecting Vowels

When conjugating, you need a connecting vowel (아 or 어) based on the stem vowel:

Stem Vowel Type Connecting Vowel
Bright (ㅏ, ㅗ) 아
Dark/Neutral (others) 어

Past Tense Formation

Pattern: Stem + connecting vowel + ㅆ다

With Bright Vowels

  • 가다 → 가 + 아 + ㅆ다 → 갔다 (went)
  • 오다 → 오 + 아 + ㅆ다 → 왔다 (came)

With Dark Vowels

  • 걷다 → 걸 + 어 + ㅆ다 → 걸었다 (walked)
  • 주다 → 주 + 어 + ㅆ다 → 줬다 (gave)

Exception

  • 하다 → 했다 (not 핬다)

Polite Form (~요)

Pattern: Stem + connecting vowel + 요

With Bright Vowels (~아요)

  • 보다 + 아요 → 봐요 (see)
  • 가다 + 아요 → 가요 (go)
  • 오다 + 아요 → 와요 (come)

With Dark Vowels (~어요)

  • 두다 + 어요 → 둬요 (put)
  • 벌다 + 어요 → 벌어요 (earn)

With Neutral Vowels (~어요)

  • 기다리다 + 어요 → 기다려요 (wait)
  • 이쁘다 + 어요 → 이뻐요 (pretty)

Exception

  • 하다 → 해요 (not 하어요)

Verb/Adjective + Noun (Modification)

Korean modifies nouns by placing the modifier before the noun, similar to adjectives in English.

Present/Continuous (~는) - Verbs Only

  • 공부하다 → 공부하는 사람 (studying person)
  • 웃다 → 웃는 사람 (laughing person)
  • 살다 → 사는 사람 (living person)

Note: ㄹ final drops before 는 (살다 → 사는)

Past/Complete (~ㄴ/은)

Without final consonant → add ㄴ:

  • 공부하다 → 공부한 사람 (person who studied)
  • 주다 → 준 것 (thing that was given)
  • 이쁘다 → 이쁜 사람 (pretty person)

With final consonant → add 은:

  • 먹다 → 먹은 사람 (person who ate)
  • 받다 → 받은 사람 (person who received)
  • 좋다 → 좋은 사람 (good person)

Special: 있다/없다 use ~는:

  • 맛있다 → 맛있는 음식 (delicious food)
  • 재미없다 → 재미없는 영화 (boring movie)

ㅂ ending adjectives → 운:

  • 즐겁다 → 즐거운 인생 (enjoyable life)
  • 아름답다 → 아름다운 사람 (beautiful person)

Future (~ㄹ/을)

Without final consonant → add ㄹ:

  • 하다 → 할 일 (work to do)
  • 싸다 → 쌀 물건 (thing that will be cheap)

With final consonant → add 을:

  • 받다 → 받을 물건 (thing to receive)
  • 있다 → 있을 것 (thing that will exist)

Irregular Verbs

ㄷ → ㄹ Change

When adding vowel endings, ㄷ sometimes changes to ㄹ:

  • 묻다 (ask) → 물어요, 물은
  • 걷다 (walk) → 걸어요, 걸은

Reason: ㄷ and ㄹ are pronounced in the same mouth position, but ㄹ flows more smoothly.

Not irregular: 받다 (receive) → 받아요 (stays ㄷ)

ㅂ → 우 Change

  • 즐겁다 → 즐거운 (drop ㅂ, add 우)
  • 아름답다 → 아름다운

Basic Particles (Postpositions)

에 - Location/Direction (for places)

  • 학교에 있다 (be at school)
  • 학교에 갔다 (went to school)

에게 - Location/Direction (for people)

  • 친구에게 갔다 (went to friend)

에서 - From (places) / At (action location)

  • 집에서 학교에 갔다 (went from home to school)
  • 집에서 만났어요 (met at home)

에 vs 에서:

  • 집에 있다 (be at home - fixed point)
  • 집에서 살다 (live at home - action location)

에게서 - From (people)

  • 친구에게서 선물을 받았다 (received gift from friend)

Important Expression: 것 (Thing)

것 nominalizes verbs and creates “thing” expressions:

Basic Usage

  • 이것 (this thing)
  • 저것 (that thing)

Verb + 는 것 (doing thing = to do)

  • 공부하는 것을 좋아합니다 (I like studying)
  • 공부하는 것은 재미있다 (Studying is interesting)

Possession

  • 내 것 = 나의 것 (my thing = mine)
  • 네 것 = 너의 것 (your thing = yours)

Important Expression: 있다 (Be/Exist/Have)

Location

나는 집에 있다 (I’m at home)

  • ~에 있다 = be at ~

Possession

나는 부인이 있다 (I have a wife)

  • Literal: “I, wife exists”
  • ~이/가 있다 = have ~

Continuous Action

나는 공부하고 있다 (I am studying)

  • ~하고 있다 = be doing ~
  • Literal: “study and then be”

Combined with Nouns

그것은 재미있다 (It’s interesting)

  • 재미 (fun) + 있다 (exists) = interesting
  • 재미가 있다 also works

Useful Expressions

~하고 싶어요 (Want to do)

  • 먹고 싶어요 (I want to eat)
  • ~고 = and/then
  • 싶다 = want

~밖에 없어요 (Only ~)

  • 연필은 한 개밖에 없어요 (There’s only one pencil)
  • 밖 = outside
  • Literal: “doesn’t exist outside of one pencil”

~게 하다 (Make/Let do)

  • 기쁘게 해요 (make happy)
  • 잠자게 해요 (make/let sleep)

좋아하다 vs 좋다

  • 밥은 좋아요 (Rice is good) - 좋다 = be good
  • 나는 밥을 좋아해요 (I like rice) - 좋아하다 = like
  • 좋아하다 = 좋다 + 하다 (do/feel good at → like)

이다 vs 있다

  • 나는 사람이다 (I am a person) - 이다 = be (equation)
  • 저기에 사람이 있다 (There is a person) - 있다 = exist

Conjunctions

~고 (And/Then)

  • 일하고 운동하고 자다 (work, then exercise, then sleep)
  • 하고 싶다 (want to do)

그래서 vs 그러니까

Both express cause and effect, but:

그래서 - Normal cause and effect

  • 돈을 벌었다. 그래서 돈이 많다. (I earned money. So I have a lot.)

그러니까 - Reason → Action (permission/obligation/confirmation)

  • 돈을 벌었다. 그러니까 돈을 써도 된다. (I earned money. So I’m allowed to spend it.)
  • 그러니까, 당신 말은 그것이 사실이라는 겁니까? (So, are you saying that’s true?)

Combined Verbs

Korean creates compound verbs by combining two verbs:

물어보다 (Try to ask)

  • 묻다 (ask) + 보다 (see/try)
  • 하나 물어볼게요 (Let me ask one thing)

받아주다 (Accept/Receive as favor)

  • 받다 (receive) + 주다 (give)
  • 선물을 받아주세요 (Please accept this gift)
  • From giver’s perspective: “give [the favor of] receiving”

Study Tips

  1. Master connecting vowels first: 아 vs 어 patterns
  2. Learn verbs with conjugations: Don’t just memorize dictionary forms
  3. Practice particles in context: Use real sentences
  4. Pay attention to formality levels: Korean has complex politeness
  5. Learn common expressions as chunks: Don’t analyze every word

Understanding these patterns will give you a solid foundation for Korean grammar!