How to use 을/ㄹ 거 in Korean

Pattern: -(으)ㄹ 거

-(으)ㄹ 거 (-(eu)ㄹgeo, (eu)ㄹgeo)

-(으)ㄹ 거 is used to talk about future events. It's common in daily and business Korean.

Korean grammar -(으)ㄹ 거 usage guide

Usage guide

When and how native speakers actually use it.

-(으)ㄹ 거(-(eu)ㄹgeo, (eu)ㄹgeo)

An expression indicating future actions or intentions

When to use

Talking about future plans, Making predictions, Making promises

The nuance

Attach '-을 거' if verb stem ends with a consonant, '-ㄹ 거' if it ends with a vowel, to indicate future. Use '-예요' for statements and '-예요?' for questions.

Real-world examples

  • 내일 친구를 만날 거예요.

    nae-il chin-gu-reul man-nal geo-ye-yo., nae il chin gu reul man nal geo ye yo.

    '만나다' has no final consonant, so '-ㄹ 거' is correctly used to indicate future.

  • 비가 올 거예요.

    bi-ga ol geo-ye-yo., bi ga ol geo ye yo.

    '오다' ends with a vowel, so '-ㄹ 거' is correctly attached for future.

  • 먹을 거야?

    meok-eul geo-ya?, meok eul geo ya?

    In questions, '-을 거야?' naturally asks about future intention.

  • 갈 거예요.

    gal geo-ye-yo., gal geo ye yo.

    '가다' has no final consonant, so '-ㄹ 거' is used properly for future.

  • 읽을 거예요.

    ik-eul geo-ye-yo., ik eul geo ye yo.

    '읽다' ends with consonant, so '-을 거' is correctly attached.

  • 달릴 거예요.

    dal-ril geo-ye-yo., dal ril geo ye yo.

    '달리다' ends with vowel, so '-ㄹ 거' is correct for future.

  • 먹을거야.

    meok-eul-geo-ya., meok eul geo ya.

    '을 거' must be separated by space from the following word; attaching without space is incorrect.

  • 갈거예요.

    gal-geo-ye-yo., gal geo ye yo.

    'ㄹ 거' must be separated by space from the following word; attaching without space is incorrect.

Quick quiz

  1. Which is correct to express future?

    미래를 나타낼 때 올바른 표현은?(mi-rae-reulna-ta-naelttaeol-ba-reunpyo-hyeon-eun?, miraereulnatanaelttaeolbareunpyohyeoneun?)
  2. How to add future form to '가다'?

    '가다'에 미래 표현을 붙인다면?('ga-da'emi-raepyo-hyeon-eulbut-in-da-myeon?, 'gada'emiraepyohyeoneulbutindamyeon?)
  3. Which sentence is incorrect?

    다음 중 틀린 문장은?(da-eumjungteul-rinmun-jang-eun?, daeumjungteulrinmunjangeun?)

More usage guides

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