Lesson 4 1-Year Course, Week 28

Describing Nouns: -는, -(으)ㄴ, -(으)ㄹ

Turn verbs and adjectives into noun modifiers with -는, -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ to build phrases like 'the book I read' and 'the place I will go'.

Mr. Gaon · Grammar, vocabulary & TOPIK

What you will learn in this lesson

Make present, past and future modifiers from verbs
Make modifiers from adjectives, 있다/없다 and nouns
Handle ㄹ stems and irregular verbs in modifier forms
Build relative clauses like 'the person who lives next door'

Mr. Gaon

Hello! Today we unlock a big door in Korean grammar. With modifiers, you can say 'the movie I watched yesterday' or 'a friend who speaks Korean'. It looks hard at first, but the system is very logical. Let’s build it together.

Modifiers come before the noun

In English, a describing clause often comes after the noun: 'the bread that I bought'. In Korean, the whole describing part always comes before the noun, and it ends in a modifier ending.

- 빵 = bread - 제가 산 빵 = the bread (that) I bought - 어제 시장에서 제가 산 빵 = the bread I bought at the market yesterday

There is no word for 'who', 'which' or 'that'. The ending does all the work. There are three endings: -는, -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ. Which one you use depends on two things: is the word a verb or an adjective, and what is the time?

V + -는 / -(으)ㄴ / -(으)ㄹ + N

verb modifiers: present / past / future

Present (is doing, does): -는 for all verbs. 가다 → 가는, 먹다 → 먹는.
Past (did): -ㄴ after a vowel, -은 after a consonant. 가다 → 간, 먹다 → 먹은.
Future or not yet done (will do): -ㄹ after a vowel, -을 after a consonant. 가다 → 갈, 먹다 → 먹을.
ㄹ stems: the ㄹ drops before -는 and -ㄴ, and -ㄹ merges into one ㄹ. 살다 → 사는, 산, 살.
있다 and 없다 (and words like 맛있다, 재미없다) take -는 in the present: 있는, 맛있는.

지금 노래하는 사람이 제 언니예요. jigeum noraehaneun sarami je eonniyeyo.
The person who is singing now is my older sister.
어제 본 영화는 정말 감동적이었어요. eoje bon yeonghwaneun jeongmal gamdongjeogieosseoyo.
The movie I saw yesterday was really moving.
내일 먹을 음식을 미리 준비했어요. [내일 머글 음시글 미리 준비해써요] naeil meogeul eumsigeul miri junbihaesseoyo.
I prepared the food we will eat tomorrow in advance.

A + -(으)ㄴ + N / N + 인 + N

adjective and noun modifiers (present state)

Adjectives use -(으)ㄴ for the present: 크다 → 큰, 작다 → 작은, 조용하다 → 조용한.
This looks the same as the verb past form. 큰 집 is 'a big house', not 'a house that was big'.
ㄹ stem adjectives drop ㄹ: 길다 → 긴, 멀다 → 먼.
ㅂ irregular: 맵다 → 매운, 귀엽다 → 귀여운. ㅎ irregular: 빨갛다 → 빨간, 그렇다 → 그런.
Noun + 이다 becomes 인: 의사인 친구 'a friend who is a doctor'.

저는 매운 음식을 좋아해요. jeoneun maeun eumsigeul joahaeyo.
I like spicy food.
빨간 우산이 제 거예요. ppalgan usani je geoyeyo.
The red umbrella is mine.
선생님인 제 친구가 이 책을 추천했어요. [선생니민 제 친구가 이 채글 추천해써요] seonsaengnimin je chinguga i chaegeul chucheonhaesseoyo.
My friend, who is a teacher, recommended this book.

Verb modifier table

Dictionary form	Type	Present -는	Past -(으)ㄴ	Future -(으)ㄹ
보다	vowel stem	보는	본	볼
읽다	consonant stem	읽는	읽은	읽을
만들다	ㄹ stem	만드는	만든	만들
듣다	ㄷ irregular	듣는	들은	들을
돕다	ㅂ irregular	돕는	도운	도울
짓다	ㅅ irregular	짓는	지은	지을
부르다	르 irregular	부르는	부른	부를
있다	있다/없다	있는	있던	있을

For 있다/없다, the past modifier is usually -던 (있던, 없던). 르 irregulars do not change, because the endings do not start with 아/어.

Adjective modifier table

Dictionary form	Type	Modifier	Example
비싸다	vowel stem	비싼	비싼 시계
좋다	consonant stem	좋은	좋은 사람
길다	ㄹ stem	긴	긴 머리
덥다	ㅂ irregular	더운	더운 날씨
하얗다	ㅎ irregular	하얀	하얀 눈
재미있다	있다 word	재미있는	재미있는 책
학생이다	noun + 이다	학생인	학생인 동생

Mr. Gaon

This one is easy to mix up, so let’s compare: 먹은 means 'ate' (past), but 작은 means 'small' (present). The same ending has a different time, because verbs and adjectives work differently. Always check the word type first.

Same verb, three times

제가 읽는 책 [제가 잉는 책] jega ingneun chaek
the book I am reading / I read (now, usually) Present: -는
제가 읽은 책 [제가 일근 책] jega ilgeun chaek
the book I read (already) Past: -은
제가 읽을 책 [제가 일글 책] jega ilgeul chaek
the book I will read Future: -을

Common mistakes

사는 곳 / 살는 곳 (✘) saneun got / salleun got (✘)
the place where (someone) lives ㄹ drops before -는: 사는, not 살는.
맛있는 빵 / 맛있은 빵 (✘) masinneun ppang / masisseun ppang (✘)
delicious bread 있다/없다 words take -는, even though they describe.
예쁜 꽃 / 예쁘는 꽃 (✘) yeppeun kkot / yeppeuneun kkot (✘)
a pretty flower Adjectives never take -는.
도운 사람 / 돕은 사람 (✘) doun saram / dobeun saram (✘)
the person who helped ㅂ irregular: 돕다 → 도운.

-(으)ㄹ in fixed patterns

The future modifier -(으)ㄹ is not only about the future. It appears in many fixed patterns that talk about possibility or something not yet real:

- -(으)ㄹ 수 있다: can (갈 수 있어요) - -(으)ㄹ 때: when (밥을 먹을 때) - -(으)ㄹ 거예요: will (만날 거예요) - -(으)ㄹ 계획이에요: plan to (이사할 계획이에요) - 할 일: things to do (오늘 할 일이 많아요)

Notice that the sound after -(으)ㄹ often becomes tense: 갈 수 is pronounced like [갈 쑤], and 할 일 like [할 릴]. When you hear this, it is a clue that -(으)ㄹ came before.

More examples

우리 옆집에 사는 아이는 피아노를 잘 쳐요. uri yeopjibe saneun aineun pianoreul jal chyeoyo.
The child who lives next door to us plays the piano well.
제가 만든 김밥 좀 드셔 보세요. jega mandeun gimbap jom deusyeo boseyo.
Please try some of the gimbap I made.
아까 들은 노래 제목이 뭐예요? akka deureun norae jemogi mwoyeyo?
What’s the title of the song we heard earlier?
이 근처에 조용한 카페가 있어요? i geuncheoe joyonghan kapega isseoyo?
Is there a quiet café near here?
한국어를 잘하는 친구가 도와줬어요. hangugeoreul jalhaneun chinguga dowajwosseoyo.
A friend who speaks Korean well helped me.
오늘 할 일이 너무 많아요. [오늘 할 리리 너무 마나요] oneul hal iri neomu manayo.
I have too many things to do today.
지난 주말에 간 식당 이름이 기억이 안 나요. jinan jumare gan sikdang ireumi gieogi an nayo.
I can’t remember the name of the restaurant we went to last weekend.
시간이 없는 사람은 먼저 가도 돼요. [시가니 엄는 사라믄 먼저 가도 돼요] sigani eomneun sarameun meonjeo gado dwaeyo.
People who don’t have time can go first.
다음 달에 이사할 집을 보러 갔어요. daeum dare isahal jibeul boreo gasseoyo.
I went to see the house I will move into next month.
제가 어렸을 때 살던 동네가 많이 변했어요. jega eoryeosseul ttae saldeon dongnega mani byeonhaesseoyo.
The neighborhood where I used to live as a child has changed a lot. -던: a past state or habit that is now over

Dialogue: Finding a friend at a party

A지수 씨 친구가 누구예요?   jisu ssi chinguga nuguyeyo?Which one is Jisu’s friend?
B저기 창문 옆에 서 있는 사람이요. 안경을 쓴 사람이요.   jeogi changmun yeope seo inneun saramiyo. angyeongeul sseun saramiyo.The person standing next to the window over there. The one wearing glasses.
A아, 노란 셔츠를 입은 사람이요?   a, noran syeocheureul ibeun saramiyo?Oh, the person in the yellow shirt?
B네, 맞아요. 출판사에서 일하는 친구인데 정말 재미있는 사람이에요.   ne, majayo. chulpansaeseo ilhaneun chinguinde jeongmal jaemiinneun saramieyo.Yes, that’s right. She’s a friend who works at a publishing company, and she’s a really fun person.
A그럼 제가 요즘 읽을 책을 찾고 있는데 추천해 달라고 해야겠어요.   geureom jega yojeum ilgeul chaegeul chatgo inneunde chucheonhae dallago haeyagesseoyo.Then I should ask her to recommend something, since I’m looking for a book to read these days.
B좋은 생각이에요. 같이 가요!   joeun saenggagieyo. gachi gayo!Good idea. Let’s go together!

Check quiz

Q1. Choose the correct phrase: 'the cake I made yesterday'
Q2. Choose the correct phrase: 'a fun game'
Q3. What does 작은 가방 mean?
Q4. Fill in the blank: 어제 ___ 노래가 계속 생각나요. (듣다)
Q5. Choose the correct phrase: 'cold water'
Q6. Which sentence means 'I don’t have time to sleep'?

Mr. Gaon

Wonderful! Modifiers take practice, so be patient with yourself. Try describing three things around you right now, like 제가 마시는 커피 or 어제 산 펜. Little by little, it becomes automatic.

Key points

Korean modifiers always come before the noun; there is no 'who/which/that'.
Verbs: -는 (present), -(으)ㄴ (past), -(으)ㄹ (future/not yet).
Adjectives: -(으)ㄴ for the present state (큰, 작은); nouns: 인.
있다/없다 words take -는: 맛있는, 재미없는.
ㄹ stems drop ㄹ before -는 and -ㄴ: 사는, 산, 살.
-(으)ㄹ appears in many patterns: -(으)ㄹ 수 있다, -(으)ㄹ 때, 할 일.

Recommended official free resources

Korean Language Teaching & Learning Center — National Institute of Korean Language
Nuri-Sejong Hakdang (free e-textbooks, Sejong Korean) — King Sejong Institute Foundation

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