~는 것: a verb becomes a noun
By Daniel Buckley · 16 minute read · TOPIK 2
Vocabulary
- 것 - thing
- 곳 - place
- 일 - work, something to do
- 이유 - reason
- 취미 - hobby
- 결혼하다 - to get married
- 기억하다 - to remember
- 잊다 - to forget
- 찍다 - to take (a photo)
- 입다 - to wear
Try saying "I like reading books". You know 책을 읽어요 and you know 좋아해요, but they won't join up. 읽어요 ends a sentence, and 좋아하다 wants a noun in front of it.
Korean solves this in two steps. First the verb takes an ending that lets it sit in front of a noun, the way adjectives did in lesson 10. Then that noun can be 것, "thing", which makes the whole clause one big noun. Most of Level 2 is built on those two steps, so go slowly here.
Step one: a verb in front of a noun
In lesson 10 adjectives took the modifier ㄴ/은 to go before a noun: 큰 가방, a bag that is big. Action verbs have a modifier too, and it's 는. 먹다 gives 먹는, and 먹는 사람 is a person who eats.
Making the 는 form
- Any action verb: add 는 to the stem.가다 → 가는먹다 → 먹는공부하다 → 공부하는
- Stem ends in ㄹ: the ㄹ drops first.살다 → 사는만들다 → 만드는
- 있다 and 없다: 는, as you saw with 맛있는.있다 → 있는없다 → 없는
Pick a verb
먹다먹먹는
※ 는 starts with a consonant, so irregular verbs keep their stems: 듣는, 돕는. The sound does change: 먹는 is said 멍는, 듣는 is 든는 and 있는 is 인는.
Here's what makes this bigger than a new ending: the verb brings its whole clause with it. Everything that belongs to the verb goes in front, and the noun goes last. English says "the person who is drinking coffee", and Korean says "coffee-drinking person".
서울에 사는 친구가 있어요.
(I) have friend who lives in Seoul.
저기 커피를 마시는 사람이 제 친구예요.
Person over there who is drinking coffee is my friend.
제가 좋아하는 음식은 김치찌개예요.
Food that I like is kimchi stew.
한국어를 가르치는 선생님을 만났어요.
(I) met teacher who teaches Korean.
시간이 없는 사람은 택시를 타요.
People who don't have time take taxi.
요즘 매일 듣는 노래가 있어요.
These days there is song that (I) listen to every day.
Look at example 3. Inside one of these clauses the subject usually takes 이/가, so it's 제가 좋아하는 and not 저는 좋아하는. It's the same habit you saw inside (으)면 clauses.
To read these, find the noun straight after the 는 and start there. That noun is what the sentence is talking about, and everything before it describes it. English needs "who", "that", "where", "when" or "why" depending on the noun, and Korean uses the one form for all of them:
친구가 일하는 회사
company where friend works
제가 떠나는 날
day when I leave
한국어를 배우는 이유
reason why (I) learn Korean
The form doesn't say what part the noun plays. 먹는 사람 is the person doing the eating, and 먹는 음식 is the food being eaten. The meaning tells you which.
Past and not yet
The tense lives in this ending, so it has three shapes. 는 is for what happens now or usually, ㄴ/은 is for what already happened, and ㄹ/을 is for what hasn't happened yet.
Three tenses before a noun
- Present: 는.먹는 음식: food (I) eat가는 사람: person who goes
- Past: ㄴ after a vowel, 은 after a consonant. ㄹ stems drop the ㄹ.먹은 음식: food (I) ate간 사람: person who went만든 음식: food (I) made
- Not yet: ㄹ after a vowel, 을 after a consonant. ㄹ stems add nothing.먹을 음식: food (I) will eat갈 사람: person who will go만들 음식: food (I) will make
- Irregular verbs: 은 and 을 start with a vowel, so these verbs change as they do before 아/어.듣다 → 들은, 들을돕다 → 도운, 도울
※ The past form looks exactly like the adjective form from lesson 10, but it means something different. On an adjective, ㄴ/은 is the present: 작은 가방, a bag that is small. On an action verb it's the past: 먹은 밥, rice that was eaten.
Pick a verb
먹다먹먹은
Pick a verb
먹다먹먹을
어제 본 영화가 재미있었어요.
Movie (I) saw yesterday was fun.
작년에 결혼한 친구가 부산에 살아요.
Friend who got married last year lives in Busan.
이건 제가 만든 케이크예요.
This is cake I made.
내일 입을 옷을 샀어요.
(I) bought clothes to wear tomorrow.
오늘 할 일이 많아요.
Today work to do is a lot.
우리가 살 집을 찾고 있어요.
(We) are looking for house we will live in.
You've met ㄹ/을 before a noun already. ㄹ/을 때 is this form in front of 때, "time", and ㄹ/을 수 있다 is this form in front of 수, "a way". Those two fix the form, so there it doesn't mean "not yet". Elsewhere it usually does.
Negatives need nothing new, because 안 and 못 stay in front of the verb: 안 먹는 사람, 못 간 친구, 안 입을 옷.
Step two: 것, the empty noun
Now swap the noun for 것. It means "thing" in the emptiest possible sense, so it adds no meaning of its own. It's a noun-shaped slot, there to give the clause something to end on.
You've been using it since lesson 2, because 이것 is just "this thing". Once a clause ends in 것 it's a noun, so it can take any particle or 이에요, like 사과 or 학교 would.
Clause + 것
- As the subject: takes 이/가 or 은/는.혼자 사는 것이 쉽지 않아요.
- As the object: takes 을/를.책을 읽는 것을 좋아해요.
- Before 이다: 것이에요.제 취미는 책을 읽는 것이에요.
저는 요리하는 것을 좋아해요.
I like cooking.
혼자 사는 것이 쉽지 않아요.
Living alone is not easy.
한국어로 말하는 것은 아직 어려워요.
Speaking in Korean is still hard.
제 취미는 사진을 찍는 것이에요.
My hobby is taking photos.
아침에 일찍 일어나는 것이 제일 힘들어요.
Getting up early in the morning is hardest.
Compare 책을 읽어요 with 책을 읽는 것. The object stays 책을, because inside the clause 읽다 is still a verb. It's only from the outside that the whole thing acts like a noun.
How it sounds: 거, 게, 건, 걸
In conversation 것 is usually 거, and it melts into the particle after it. The full 것 belongs mainly to writing and careful speech. These short forms are what you'll hear, so learn to catch them as part of the clause.
The spoken forms
- 것 → 거제가 산 거
- 것이 → 게혼자 사는 게 쉽지 않아요.
- 것은 → 건운전하는 건 어려워요.
- 것을 → 걸책 읽는 걸 좋아해요.
- 것이에요 → 거예요제 취미는 사진 찍는 거예요.
저는 영화 보는 걸 좋아해요.
I like watching movie.
일찍 일어나는 게 힘들어요.
Getting up early is hard.
밤에 운전하는 건 무서워요.
Driving at night is scary.
※ This is also where 이게, 이건 and 이걸 come from: 이것이, 이것은, 이것을. Particles often drop in speech, so you'll hear 책 읽는 걸 for 책을 읽는 것을.
The act, the thing, the fact
Because 것 is empty, it can stand for three different things, and English needs different words for them. So far it has been the act, as in "reading" or "cooking". It can also be the thing itself, as in "what I ate".
어제 먹은 게 맛있었어요.
What (I) ate yesterday was delicious.
제가 좋아하는 건 커피예요.
What I like is coffee.
친구가 만든 거 먹어 보세요.
Try eating what friend made.
After an adjective, 것 is the English "one". You'll use this in every shop: 큰 거 주세요, give me the big one.
큰 거 주세요.
Please give (me) big one.
더 작은 거 있어요?
More small one exists?
저는 매운 건 못 먹어요.
I can't eat spicy things.
With verbs of knowing, such as 알다, 모르다, 잊다 and 기억하다, 것 is usually the fact: "that this happened". English says "that" here, and Korean uses the same clause with 것. Nouns join in with 인, the form 이다 takes before a noun, and 아니다 becomes 아닌.
친구가 결혼한 걸 몰랐어요.
(I) didn't know that friend got married.
오늘 시험이 있는 걸 잊었어요.
(I) forgot that today there is exam.
그 사람이 의사인 걸 알아요?
(Do you) know that that person is doctor?
The rest of the sentence tells you which one you're looking at. Try sorting these.
혼자 여행하는 게 좋아요.
어제 산 걸 친구한테 줬어요.
오늘 시험이 있는 걸 잊었어요.
아침에 운동하는 건 힘들어요.
제가 만든 거 먹어 보세요.
친구가 한국에 온 걸 몰랐어요.
ㄹ/을 것: something to eat
ㄹ/을 것 is a thing that hasn't happened yet: something to eat, something to drink. With 있다 and 없다 it says whether you have one. 먹을 게 없어요 is what you say in front of an empty fridge.
집에 먹을 게 없어요.
At home thing to eat doesn't exist.
마실 거 있어요?
Thing to drink exists?
오늘은 할 게 많아요.
Today things to do are many.
시장에서 살 것이 있어요.
At market there are things to buy.
When you have a real noun in mind, use it instead of 것: 입을 옷이 없어요, (I) have no clothes to wear, or 갈 곳이 없어요, (I) have no place to go. 할 일이 많아요 is what people usually say about a long to-do list.
※ After ㄹ/을 the sound tightens, as it does in 갈 거예요: 먹을 게 is said 먹을 께. ㄹ/을 거예요 is this same 것, and lesson 33 takes it apart.
Which form?
어제 ___ 영화가 재미있었어요.
The movie I saw yesterday was fun.
내일 ___ 옷이 없어요.
I have no clothes to wear tomorrow.
서울에 ___ 친구가 있어요.
I have a friend who lives in Seoul.
저는 음악을 ___ 좋아해요.
I like listening to music.
___ 거 주세요.
Please give me a small one.
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
Why this matters later
Many patterns from here on are this lesson's clause in front of one particular noun. When a pattern starts with 는, ㄴ/은 or ㄹ/을, look at what follows, because it's often an ordinary word with an ordinary meaning.
Common mistakes
저는 책을 읽어요를 좋아해요.
저는 책을 읽는 것을 좋아해요.
The 해요 form ends a sentence, so it can't take a particle. You need a noun, and 것 gives you one.
어제 먹는 음식이 맛있었어요.
어제 먹은 음식이 맛있었어요.
The eating is finished, so the verb before the noun needs its own past form. The 었 at the end only covers 맛있다.
서울에 살는 친구가 있어요.
서울에 사는 친구가 있어요.
ㄹ stems lose their ㄹ before 는.
One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.
Check yourself
Quick check
1 / 6
어제 ___ 영화가 재미있었어요. (보다) The movie I saw yesterday was fun.
It's finished, and the stem ends in a vowel.
Summary
| Dictionary | Stem | Present: 는 |
|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹는 |
| 가다 | 가 | 가는 |
| 살다 | 살 | 사는 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 듣는 |
| 만들다 | 만들 | 만드는 |
| 공부하다 | 공부하 | 공부하는 |
| Dictionary | Stem | Past: ㄴ/은 |
|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹은 |
| 가다 | 가 | 간 |
| 살다 | 살 | 산 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 들은 |
| 만들다 | 만들 | 만든 |
| 공부하다 | 공부하 | 공부한 |
| Dictionary | Stem | Not yet: ㄹ/을 |
|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹을 |
| 가다 | 가 | 갈 |
| 살다 | 살 | 살 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 들을 |
| 만들다 | 만들 | 만들 |
| 공부하다 | 공부하 | 공부할 |
Then add 것
- The act: 책 읽는 것, reading books.
- The thing: 제가 산 것, what I bought. After an adjective: 큰 것, the big one.
- The fact: 친구가 온 것, that a friend came.
- In speech: 거, 게, 건, 걸, 거예요.
Now you can say
제 취미는 책을 읽는 거예요.
My hobby is reading book.
마실 거 있어요?
Thing to drink exists?
제가 만든 거 먹어 보세요.
Try eating what I made.
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