Lesson 14
In the previous lesson, we looked at how to conjugate descriptive verbs and make adjectives in Korean. You are now familiar with the fact that Korean and English have different systems when it comes to using adjectives. But that’s not it. In this lesson, let us look at how to make adjectives out of verbs.
Again, “adjectives” are a part of speech that modifies nouns (usually) in front of them (i.e. “good” in “good idea” and “awesome” in “awesome music”). In Korean, not only descriptive verbs but also “action verbs” can be used as adjectives, or more precisely, used in the form of adjectives.
Example of descriptive verbs used as adjectives
Nice person (nice + person) = descriptive verb 좋다 + 사람 = 좋은 사람
Difficult game (difficult + game) = descriptive verb 어렵다 + 게임 = 어려운 게임
Examples of action verbs used as adjectives
노래하는 사람 = 노래하다 (to sing) + 사람 (person)
= (the/a) person who sings
좋아하는 책 = 좋아하다 (to like) + 책 (book)
= (the/a) book that I like
---> book who likes ( x )
As you can see above, when verbs are changed into the form of adjectives, the meaning can depend on the context, so what you have to do is just know that the adjective is somehow modifying the noun, and from the overall context, figure out what the adjective part means.
Conjugation
: Verb stem + -는
(Verb stems ending with ㄹ drop the ㄹ and are followed by -는)
The adjective part in certain sentences can be longer than just one word.
For example:
좋아하다 = to like, to love
Adjective form: 좋아하는
좋아하는 책 = a book that I/you/they/someone like(s)
내가(제가) 좋아하는 책 = a book that I like
(Here, “내가 좋아하는” is the adjective part.)
내가(제가) 안 좋아하는 책 = a book that I don’t like
(Here, “내가(제가) 안 좋아하는” is the adjective part.)
Depending on the context and the use of particles, the entire meaning can change. Now you know that 좋아하는 is the adjective form of 좋아하다 and that it means “that I/ someone like(s). But the meaning can change depending on which particle is used.
Example:
좋아하는 사람
= someone that someone likes
= someone I like
민지가 좋아하는 사람
= someone that Minji likes
민지를 좋아하는 사람
= someone that likes Minji
Sample sentences
- 이 노래는 제가 좋아하는 노래예요.
= This song is a song that I like.
- 자주 먹는 한국 음식 있어요?
= Is there any Korean food that you eat often?
- 자주 가는 카페 있어요?
= Is there a cafe that you go to often?
- 요즘 좋아하는 가수는 누구예요?
= Which singer do you like these days?
- 요즘 공부하고 있는 외국어는 일본어예요.
= The foreign language I am studying these days is Japanese.
- 눈이 오는 날에는 영화 보고 싶어요.
= On a day when it snows, I want to see a movie.
- 저기 있는 사람, 아는 사람이에요?
= That person who is over there, is it someone that you know?
- 배고픈 사람 (있어요)?
= Anybody (who is) hungry?