Chapter 32
Why Verbs Change
In Korean, verbs don’t “conjugate” like in many languages by changing the middle of the word. Instead, Korean builds meaning by attaching endings to a verb stem: stem + ending (먹- + 어요 → 먹어요). Politeness, tense, mood, and sentence type (statement/question) live in the endings.
Core idea: verb stem + ending
Think of Korean verbs like LEGO: the stem carries the core meaning, and endings add meaning such as politeness, tense, and intention.
| Meaning | Stem | Ending | |
|---|---|---|---|
| eat | 먹- | 어요 → 먹어요 | |
| go | 가- | 요 → 가요 | |
| do | 하- | 어요 → 해요 | |
| see | 보- | 아요 → 봐요 |
What endings can add
| Category | What it changes | Simple example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Politeness | how polite you sound | 먹어요 (polite) vs 먹어 (casual) | |
| Tense | past/present/future | 먹었어요 (past) / 먹어요 (present) | |
| Mood / intention | request, suggestion, plan | 먹을게요 (I’ll eat) / 먹어요? (question) | |
| Sentence type | statement vs question | 가요. vs 가요? |
Same stem, different endings = different meaning. This is why Korean verbs seem to “change a lot.”
Politeness (the first thing you’ll notice)
You’ll see different speech levels in Korean. For beginners, the most practical starting point is the polite style ending -요 (해요체).
| Situation | Common style | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most daily conversations | polite (-요) | 먹어요, 가요, 해요 | |
| Close friends / casual | casual | 먹어, 가, 해 | |
| Very formal | formal | 먹습니다, 갑니다 (later) |
This course will mostly use the polite -요 style first. It’s safe, common, and easy to apply.
Tense (quick preview)
You don’t need all tense rules yet—just recognize that tense also appears in endings.
| Meaning | Present | Past | |
|---|---|---|---|
| eat | 먹어요 | 먹었어요 / 먹을게요 | |
| go | 가요 | 갔어요 / 갈게요 | |
| do | 해요 | 했어요 / 할게요 |
Questions: same ending + ?
In Korean, a polite statement can become a question just by changing intonation and adding a question mark in writing.
| Statement | Question | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 가요. | 가요? | I go. / Do you go? | |
| 먹어요. | 먹어요? | I eat. / Do you eat? | |
| 해요. | 해요? | I do it. / Do you do it? |
Listen for rising intonation in questions. The verb form may look identical.
Mini practice: spot the stem
Try to identify the stem in each word. Don’t worry about perfect rules yet—just train your eyes to separate stem vs ending.
| Word | Stem | Ending | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹어요 | 먹- | 어요 | |
| 가요 | 가- | 요 | |
| 해요 | 하- | 어요 (changes to 해요) | |
| 봤어요 | 보- | 았어요 (changes to 봤어요) | |
| 갔어요 | 가- | 았어요 (changes to 갔어요) |
Chapter goal: understand the pattern ‘stem + ending’ and recognize that endings carry politeness, tense, mood, and questions.