~는 거예요 and 것이다: explaining

By Daniel Buckley · 12 minute read · TOPIK 2

Vocabulary

울다 - to cry
늦다 - to be late
피곤하다 - to be tired
원래 - originally, by nature
실수하다 - to make a mistake
화가 나다 - to get angry
끄다 - to turn off
뛰다 - to run
성공하다 - to succeed

You learned 갈 거예요 back in lesson 7 and took it on trust. Now you can read it. 갈 is the "not yet" form from lesson 32, 거 is 것, and 예요 is "is", so word for word it says "(it) is a will-go thing".

Swap in the other two tenses and you get 가는 거예요 and 간 거예요, which have nothing to do with the future. They say "what's going on here is this". You'll hear them constantly, and English has no form that matches them, so this one takes time to feel right.

Start from the literal meaning

거예요 is simply "is a thing", so a clause plus 거예요 can say what kind of thing something is. There's nothing unusual going on in these sentences. They use 것 just as lesson 32 did.

이 케이크는 제가 만든 거예요.
This cake is thing I made.
이 가방은 어머니가 주신 거예요.
This bag is thing mother gave.
이거 누가 산 거예요?
This is thing who bought?

Now read the future the same way. 비가 올 거예요 labels rain as something not yet here but expected. That's why it can be a plan or a guess, as lesson 7 showed, and why I'd call it "expected" rather than "will".

Asking what's going on

Say a friend starts crying. 왜 울어요 simply asks why. 왜 우는 거예요 asks the same thing, but it points at what's happening and wants it explained, so it tends to sound more concerned or more pressing.

The nearest English is "why is it that you're crying", though the Korean isn't nearly so stiff. The gap between the two questions is small, and tone of voice can close it.

Making ~는 거예요

Verb, now: 는 거예요.가는 거예요먹는 거예요
Verb, past: ㄴ/은 거예요.간 거예요먹은 거예요
Adjective: ㄴ/은 거예요.비싼 거예요좋은 거예요
Noun: 인 거예요.학생인 거예요

Pick a verb

가다가가는 거예요

Pick a verb

가다가간 거예요

왜 우는 거예요?
Why is it that (you) cry?
지금 어디 가는 거예요?
Now where is it that (you) go?
언제 온 거예요?
When is it that (you) came?
왜 이렇게 비싼 거예요?
Why is it that (it) is so expensive?
무슨 일이 있는 거예요?
What matter is it that exists?

※ Because the question presses for an explanation, it can sound like a complaint. 지금 뭐 하는 거예요? can be real curiosity or "what on earth are you doing?", and your voice decides which.

Giving the explanation

The same form answers the question. You use it when something is already known and you're explaining it, so it often sits next to a reason. 늦었어요 reports that I was late. 늦은 거예요 assumes you know that and tells you how it came about.

버스를 놓쳤어요. 그래서 늦은 거예요.
(I) missed bus. So it's that (I) was late.
길이 막혀서 늦은 거예요.
Road was blocked, so it's that (I) was late.
어제 잠을 못 자서 피곤한 거예요.
Yesterday (I) couldn't sleep, so it's that (I) am tired.

It's especially useful for correcting someone. Use 는 게 아니에요 for what isn't going on and 는 거예요 for what is. 게 is 것 plus 이, the particle 아니다 takes.

안 먹는 게 아니에요. 못 먹는 거예요.
It's not that (I) don't eat. It's that (I) can't eat.
화가 난 게 아니에요. 피곤한 거예요.
It's not that (I) got angry. It's that (I) am tired.

Your ear gets some help here. ㄹ/을 거예요 is said 꺼예요, but 는 거예요 and ㄴ/은 거예요 keep a plain ㄱ. So 갈 거예요 and 간 거예요 differ by more than one letter.

어제 왜 전화를 안 받은 거예요?

Yesterday why is it that (you) didn't answer phone?

미안해요. 너무 피곤해서 일찍 잔 거예요.

Sorry. Too tired, so it's that (I) slept early.

저한테 화가 난 게 아니에요?

It's not that (you) got angry at me?

네, 화 안 났어요. 전화를 못 본 거예요.

Right, (I) didn't get angry. It's that (I) couldn't see phone.

How things are done

는 거예요 can also state how things generally go. Here the speaker isn't explaining one event. It's closer to "that's how it's done" or "that's just how it is", and it often comes with 원래 or 이렇게.

이건 이렇게 먹는 거예요.
This is thing (you) eat like this.
사람은 원래 실수하는 거예요.
People by nature make mistakes.
원래 그런 거예요.
(It) is by nature that kind of thing.

Which tense?

어제 왜 안 ___?
Why didn't you come yesterday?
내일 비가 ___.
It will rain tomorrow.
이 케이크는 제가 ___.
I made this cake.
왜 이렇게 ___?
Why is it so expensive?
안 먹는 게 아니에요. 못 ___.
It's not that I won't eat it. I can't.

Listen and type

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Play it as often as you like.

consonants · left hand vowels · right hand

In writing: ~는 것이다

Writing keeps the full form: 것이다 in the plain written style from lesson 8, and 것입니다 in speeches and formal talks. It does the same job, but on paper it often steps back to draw a conclusion. English tends to say "that is why" or "in other words" at that point.

그는 매일 연습했다. 그래서 성공한 것이다.
He practised every day. That is why (he) succeeded.
그래서 많은 사람들이 서울로 가는 것이다.
That is why many people go to Seoul.
그래서 제가 여기에 온 것입니다.
That is why I came here.

ㄹ/을 것: instructions on paper

One more use, and this one's for reading. On notices, exam papers and lists of rules, a verb in the ㄹ/을 것 form is an instruction. You can read it as the "thing to do" from lesson 32, left standing at the end of the sentence, and it speaks to nobody in particular.

Written instructions

Do: ㄹ/을 것.쓰다 → 쓸 것도착하다 → 도착할 것
Don't: 지 말 것, from 지 마세요.뛰다 → 뛰지 말 것

시험 시작 십 분 전까지 도착할 것.
Arrive by ten minutes before exam start.
답은 검은색 펜으로 쓸 것.
Write answer with black pen.
사용 후 불을 끌 것.
After use turn off light.
교실에서 뛰지 말 것.
Do not run in classroom.

※ This belongs on paper. To tell someone to do something out loud, use (으)세요 and 지 마세요 from lesson 27. Say 쓸 것 to a person and you'll sound like a notice on a wall.

Common mistakes

어제 왜 안 왔는 거예요?
어제 왜 안 온 거예요?
The past here is ㄴ/은. 는 doesn't go after 았/었 before 거예요.
왜 이렇게 비싸는 거예요?
왜 이렇게 비싼 거예요?
Adjectives take ㄴ/은, not 는.
내일 학교에 갈 거에요.
내일 학교에 갈 거예요.
It's 것 plus 이에요, shortened, so the spelling is 거예요. Koreans make this slip too.

Check yourself

Quick check

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왜 ___? (울다, with 거예요) Why are you crying?

consonants · left hand vowels · right hand

울다 loses its ㄹ before 는.

Summary

Clause + 것 at the end of a sentence

Literal: it's a thing that...제가 만든 거예요.
Expected: ㄹ/을 거예요.비가 올 거예요.
Explaining: 는 거예요, ㄴ/은 거예요.왜 우는 거예요?그래서 늦은 거예요.
How things are: 는 거예요.원래 그런 거예요.
In writing: 는 것이다, ㄴ/은 것이다.그래서 성공한 것이다.
Notices: ㄹ/을 것, 지 말 것.펜으로 쓸 것.

Now you can say

왜 이렇게 늦은 거예요?
Why is it that (you) were so late?
그래서 피곤한 거예요.
So it's that (I) am tired.
안 가는 게 아니에요. 못 가는 거예요.
It's not that (I) don't go. It's that (I) can't go.