2 · Before a noun, and verbs as nouns
Verbs before a noun, now: 자는 아이, 내가 읽는 책
the present relative clause
An action verb takes -는 to describe a noun: the child who is sleeping, the book I am reading.
English describes a noun with a clause that follows it: “the child who is sleeping”, “the book that I am reading”. Korean puts the whole clause in front of the noun and has no word for “who”, “which” or “that”. The verb at the end of the clause takes -는, and the noun follows: 자는 아이, 제가 읽는 책.
-는 attaches to any action-verb stem, after a consonant or a vowel alike: 먹는, 가는, 공부하는. Stems in 리을 lose their l: 살다 → 사는 곳, 만들다 → 만드는 사람. Before -는 the sound rules are busy: 먹는 is said meongneun, 듣는 deunneun, 있는 inneun.
The form covers the present in a broad sense: what is happening now (지금 노래하는 사람), what happens regularly (제가 자주 가는 식당), and what is generally true (고기를 안 먹는 사람). The tense of the whole sentence is carried by the main verb at the end, not by the clause.
Inside the clause, the subject takes 이/가, not 은/는: 제가 좋아하는 음식, “the food I like”. English speakers who have learnt 저는 as “I” tend to carry it into the clause, and 저는 좋아하는 음식 falls apart, because a topic belongs to the whole sentence, not to one part of it. Who does what is told by the particles inside: 친구를 기다리는 사람 is the person waiting for a friend, 친구가 기다리는 사람 the person a friend is waiting for.
The form
| after a consonant | 먹다 → 먹는 사람 |
| after a vowel | 가다 → 가는 버스 |
| verbs in 하다 | 공부하다 → 공부하는 학생 |
| stem in 리을: the l drops | 살다 → 사는 곳 |
| with a subject inside | 제가 읽는 책 |
| negative | 고기를 안 먹는 사람 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
-는 goes on any action-verb stem, with or without a final consonant.
저기 커피를 마시는 사람이 제 동생이에요.The person drinking coffee over there is my younger brother.
The clause stands before the noun, with no word for “who” or “which”.
제가 매일 타는 버스는 십 분마다 와요.The bus I take every day comes every ten minutes.
The subject inside the clause takes 이/가 or nothing, not 은/는.
제가 제일 좋아하는 계절은 가을이에요.My favourite season is autumn.
Stems in 리을 drop the l before -는.
부산에 사는 친구가 놀러 왔어요.A friend who lives in Busan came to visit.
A closer look
Reading a long noun phrase
A Korean clause before a noun can be long — 매일 아침 일곱 시에 우리 집 앞을 지나가는 버스, “the bus that passes in front of our house at seven every morning” — and English speakers get lost because the noun they are waiting for comes last. Read it as a list of details looking for their noun: when you reach -는, the next word is what everything before it describes.
Clauses can also stack: 제가 다니는 회사 근처에 있는 식당, “the restaurant near the company I work for”. Each -는 closes one description and hands it to the noun after it.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
-
the word is an adjective
it takes -은 or an added n, not -는: 좋은 날, 예쁜 옷
좋은 하루 보내세요.Have a good day.
-는 belongs to action verbs and to 있다 and 없다. An adjective names a lasting quality, and its present modifier is the form with n.
How to spot it
- -는
- 먹는
- 가는
- 사는
- 하는
Example sentences
지금 자는 아이를 깨우지 마세요.Do not wake the child who is sleeping.
저는 한국어를 가르치는 선생님이에요.I am a teacher who teaches Korean.
요즘 읽는 책이 정말 재미있어요.The book I am reading at the moment is really good.
이 버스가 시청에 가는 버스예요?Is this the bus that goes to the city hall?
고기를 안 먹는 사람도 있어요.Some people do not eat meat.
회사 근처에 맛있는 국수를 파는 집이 있어요.Near the office there is a place that sells delicious noodles.
8 more example sentences
제가 자주 가는 카페를 소개할게요.Let me introduce you to a café I often go to.
노래하는 사람이 누구예요?Who is the person singing?
주말에 운동하는 사람이 많아요.Lots of people exercise at the weekend.
여기는 학생들이 공부하는 곳이에요.This is a place where students study.
일본어를 할 줄 아는 사람 있어요?Is there anyone who can speak Japanese?
저기 웃는 아이가 제 딸이에요.The child laughing over there is my daughter.
친구를 기다리는 동안 책을 읽었어요.I read a book while I was waiting for my friend.
모르는 단어가 있으면 물어보세요.If there is a word you do not know, ask.
Worth knowing (1)
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One particle, a different person
Because the particles inside the clause say who does what, changing one particle changes the whole meaning: 친구를 기다리는 사람 is “the person waiting for a friend”, 친구가 기다리는 사람 “the person my friend is waiting for”. Read the particles before the verb, then the noun after it.
친구가 기다리는 사람이 저기 오네요.Here comes the person my friend is waiting for.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The clause 제가 좋아하는 describes 음식, and inside it the subject takes 가. The topic of the whole sentence is 음식은, and a sentence has room for only one topic at that level — so 저는 cannot stand inside the description.
Clause, -neun, noun: everything before -neun describes the noun after it.
Your turn
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