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Grammar / Level 1 / Lesson 20

~고 있다 and 아/어지다

By Daniel Buckley · 11 minute read · TOPIK 1

Vocabulary

  1. 요즘 - these days
  2. 아까 - a while ago
  3. 기다리다 - to wait
  4. 입다 - to put on, to wear (clothes)
  5. 신다 - to put on, to wear (shoes)
  6. 쓰다 - to put on, to wear (glasses, a hat)
  7. 앉다 - to sit
  8. 서다 - to stand
  9. 따뜻하다 - to be warm
  10. 점점 - little by little

Ask a Korean friend 뭐 해요? and they might answer 밥을 먹고 있어요, I'm eating. They could also answer 밥을 먹어요 and mean much the same thing.

So ~고 있다 isn't the Korean for "-ing". It points at an action while it's under way, and its partner 아/어 있다 points at what's left once the action is over. Adjectives have their own way of showing change: 아/어지다 turns "is cold" into "got cold".

Building ~고 있다

This is the same ~고 as in lesson 19, straight on the stem, so irregular verbs stay as they are. 있다 comes after it and takes the tense.

Making ~고 있다

  • Verbs: drop 다, add 고 있다.먹다 → 먹고 있어요듣다 → 듣고 있어요
  • For the past, change 있다.먹고 있었어요

※ For the negative, put 안 in front of the verb: 지금 안 자고 있어요, I'm not sleeping now.

Pick a verb

먹다먹먹고 있어요

Under way right now

  1. 지금 비가 오고 있어요.

    Now rain is coming.

  2. 동생은 방에서 자고 있어요.

    Younger sibling is sleeping in room.

  3. 친구를 기다리고 있어요.

    (I) am waiting for friend.

  4. 요즘 한국어를 배우고 있어요.

    These days (I) am learning Korean.

  5. 아까 텔레비전을 보고 있었어요.

    A while ago (I) was watching television.

Example 4 doesn't mean you're learning Korean this very second. ~고 있다 covers anything in progress, and a stretch of study counts. 서울에 살고 있어요, I'm living in Seoul, works the same way.

Still wearing it

~고 있다 has a second reading with verbs of putting things on. 입다 means to put clothes on, so 입고 있어요 usually means you did that and they're still on. The action is over, and its result is what's continuing.

  1. 친구는 오늘 청바지를 입고 있어요.

    Friend today is wearing jeans.

  2. 안경을 쓰고 있어요.

    (I) am wearing glasses.

  3. 새 운동화를 신고 있어요.

    (I) am wearing new trainers.

※ Each kind of item has its own verb: 입다 for clothes, 신다 for shoes and socks, 쓰다 for glasses and hats. 입고 있어요 can also mean you're in the middle of getting dressed, but context nearly always settles it.

아/어 있다: the result stays

Sitting down takes a second, and then you stay sitting. Korean keeps those apart. ~고 있다 is the action going on, and 아/어 있다 is the state once it's finished. English "is sitting" means the second, which is why learners reach for the wrong form.

Making 아/어 있다

  • Verbs with no object: take the 해요 form, drop 요, add a space and 있다.앉아요 → 앉아 있어요서요 → 서 있어요와요 → 와 있어요

Pick a verb

앉다앉아요앉아 있어요

  1. 의자에 앉아 있어요.

    (I) am sitting on chair.

  2. 친구가 문 앞에 서 있어요.

    Friend is standing in front of door.

  3. 동생은 침대에 누워 있어요.

    Younger sibling is lying on bed.

  4. 친구가 벌써 와 있어요.

    Friend already has come and is here.

  5. 문이 열려 있어요.

    Door is open.

  6. 창문이 닫혀 있어요.

    Window is closed.

The last two use 열리다 and 닫히다, the verbs for a door opening or closing with nobody named as doing it. Lesson 29 explains where they come from. For now, learn 열려 있어요 and 닫혀 있어요 as they are.

Side by side, the two forms split like this.

  1. 친구가 오고 있어요.

    Friend is coming (on the way).

  2. 친구가 벌써 와 있어요.

    Friend already has come (is here now).

  3. 동생이 부산에 가고 있어요.

    Younger sibling is going to Busan (on the way).

  4. 동생이 부산에 가 있어요.

    Younger sibling has gone to Busan (is there now).

  5. 제가 문을 열고 있어요.

    I am opening door.

  6. 문이 열려 있어요.

    Door is open.

Look at the last pair. 아/어 있다 describes the thing that's in the state, so it normally takes no object. That's also why clothing verbs don't use it. 옷을 입다 has an object, so ~고 있다 does the job, as in the last section.

  1. 저는 지금 의자에 ___.

    I'm sitting on a chair now.

  2. 버스가 ___. 조금만 기다려요.

    The bus is on its way. Let's wait a little.

  3. 친구는 오늘 청바지를 ___.

    My friend is wearing jeans today.

  4. 창문이 ___.

    The window is open.

아/어지다: becoming

춥다 describes a state. To say the state changed, English reaches for "get" or "become". Korean adds 지다 to the 아/어 base, and 춥다, "be cold", turns into 추워지다, "get cold".

Making 아/어지다

  • Adjectives: take the 해요 form, drop 요, add 지다. There's no space.추워요 → 추워지다좋아요 → 좋아지다깨끗해요 → 깨끗해지다
  • The result is a verb. 지 and 어 merge into 져.추워져요추워졌어요추워질 거예요

Pick a verb

춥다추워요추워졌어요

  1. 날씨가 추워졌어요.

    Weather got cold.

  2. 요즘 바빠졌어요.

    These days (I) have become busy.

  3. 방이 깨끗해졌어요.

    Room became clean.

  4. 한국어가 재미있어졌어요.

    Korean became fun.

  5. 내일은 날씨가 따뜻해질 거예요.

    Tomorrow weather will get warm.

English often says "colder" or "busier" here. Korean doesn't need a comparative, because the change already means there's more of it than before. 추워졌어요 is both "it got cold" and "it got colder".

※ On a verb, 아/어지다 does a different job, close to a passive. This lesson sticks to adjectives.

Getting colder

The two forms stack. 아/어지다 makes a verb, and a verb can take ~고 있다, so you get a change that's still going on. 점점, little by little, often comes along with it.

  1. 날씨가 추워지고 있어요.

    Weather is getting cold.

  2. 날씨가 점점 따뜻해지고 있어요.

    Weather little by little is getting warm.

  3. 요즘 한국어가 점점 쉬워지고 있어요.

    These days Korean little by little is getting easy.

Now pick the form that fits each sentence.

  1. 어제는 따뜻했어요. 오늘은 갑자기 ___.

    It was warm yesterday. Today it suddenly got cold.

  2. 오늘 정말 ___.

    I'm really busy today.

  3. 날씨가 점점 ___.

    The weather is gradually getting cold.

  4. 친구는 모자를 ___.

    My friend is wearing a hat.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

Common mistakes

  1. 내일 친구를 만나고 있어요.

    내일 친구를 만나요.

    English uses "-ing" for plans, as in "I'm meeting a friend tomorrow". ~고 있다 can't do that, so use the plain present or ㄹ/을 거예요.

  2. 문을 열어 있어요.

    문이 열려 있어요.

    아/어 있다 takes no object, so it can't go on 열다. Use 열리다, and the door becomes the subject.

  3. 날씨가 추워 됐어요.

    날씨가 추워졌어요.

    되다 is "become" after a noun: 의사가 됐어요. Adjectives take 지다.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

지금 비가 ___. (오다) It's raining now.

The stem, then 고 있어요.

Summary

~고 있어요 forms
DictionaryStem~고 있어요
먹다먹먹고 있어요
가다가가고 있어요
공부하다공부하공부하고 있어요
듣다듣듣고 있어요
살다살살고 있어요
입다입입고 있어요
아/어 있어요 forms
Dictionary해요아/어 있어요
앉다앉아요앉아 있어요
서다서요서 있어요
오다와요와 있어요
가다가요가 있어요
눕다누워요누워 있어요
아/어지다 forms
Dictionary해요아/어지다
춥다추워요추워지다
좋다좋아요좋아지다
따뜻하다따뜻해요따뜻해지다
바쁘다바빠요바빠지다
빠르다빨라요빨라지다
쉽다쉬워요쉬워지다

Now you can say

  1. 지금 친구를 기다리고 있어요.

    Now (I) am waiting for friend.

  2. 날씨가 추워졌어요.

    Weather got cold.

  3. 문이 열려 있어요.

    Door is open.

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