3 · Before a noun, and verbs as nouns
Verbs before a noun, future: 할 일
the prospective modifier
With -을 after a consonant, or an l added after a vowel, a verb describes a noun by something that has not happened yet.
The third modifier ending describes a noun by an action that is still ahead: 내일 할 일, “the things to do tomorrow”; 주말에 만날 친구, “the friend I am meeting at the weekend”. After a consonant it is -을 (먹다 → 먹을, 읽다 → 읽을); after a vowel an l is added to the last syllable (하다 → 할, 가다 → 갈, 마시다 → 마실).
English often says this with “to”: “something to eat” is 먹을 것, “a book to read” 읽을 책, “nothing to wear” 입을 옷이 없어요. English speakers tend to reach for -는 here, but 먹는 것 means “eating” or “the things one eats”, not “something to eat”.
A stem in 리을 adds nothing, because the l is already there: 살다 → 살 집, 만들다 → 만들 음식. The irregular stems change as before any ending with (으): 듣다 → 들을, 춥다 → 추울, 짓다 → 지을.
This ending is the hidden part of several patterns met elsewhere: the future 갈 거예요 is literally “a thing that will go”, 할 수 있어요 “there is a way to do”, and 갈 때 “the time of going”. In all of them the noun after it — 거, 수, 때 — is described by an action seen from before it happens. In speech the consonant after it is tensed, so 할 거예요 sounds like hal kkeoyeyo, though neither the spelling nor the romanisation shows it.
The form
| after a consonant | 먹다 → 먹을 음식 |
| after a vowel: l is added | 하다 → 할 일 |
| stem in 리을: nothing is added | 살다 → 살 집 |
| irregular stems | 듣다 → 들을 노래, 춥다 → 추울 때 |
| something to … | 마실 것, 읽을 책, 입을 옷 |
| inside fixed patterns | 갈 거예요, 할 수 있어요, 갈 때 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The ending describes a noun by an action that has not happened yet.
오늘 할 일이 너무 많아요.I have far too much to do today.
“Something to do” is this ending followed by a noun such as 것.
냉장고에 먹을 게 하나도 없어요.There is nothing to eat in the fridge.
A stem in 리을 adds nothing.
다음 달부터 살 집을 찾고 있어요.I am looking for somewhere to live from next month.
Irregular stems change as before any ending with (으).
운전하면서 들을 음악을 골랐어요.I have picked some music to listen to while I drive.
A closer look
Three modifiers on one verb
읽는 책, 읽은 책, 읽을 책 — being read now or regularly, read already, still to be read. Side by side they show that the three endings do the work that English leaves to tense and to “to”: the book I am reading, the book I read, a book to read.
With 것 the three give three different things: 먹는 것 (eating, or what one eats), 먹은 것 (what was eaten), 먹을 것 (something to eat, food).
How to spot it
- 할
- 먹을
- 갈
- 마실
- 것
Example sentences
주말에 만날 사람이 있어요.There is someone I am meeting at the weekend.
여행 가서 입을 옷을 샀어요.I bought some clothes to wear on the trip.
뭐 마실 거 드릴까요?Can I get you something to drink?
이번 주말에 읽을 책을 빌렸어요.I have borrowed a book to read this weekend.
내일 발표할 내용을 준비하고 있어요.I am preparing what I am going to present tomorrow.
지금은 이야기할 시간이 없어요.I do not have time to talk now.
8 more example sentences
파티에 올 사람이 몇 명이에요?How many people are coming to the party?
여기는 앉을 자리가 없네요.There is nowhere to sit here.
저녁에 만들 음식 재료를 샀어요.I bought the ingredients for what I am going to cook tonight.
친구한테 선물할 책을 고르고 있어요.I am choosing a book to give a friend as a present.
다음에 갈 곳은 어디예요?Where are we going next?
잠깐 쉬실 분은 이쪽으로 오세요.Anyone who would like a short rest, please come this way.
추울 때 입으려고 두꺼운 코트를 샀어요.I bought a thick coat to wear when it is cold.
할 말이 있는데 잠깐 시간 있어요?There is something I need to tell you. Do you have a moment?
Worth knowing (1)
-
Not always the future
The ending says that the action is not seen as done, not strictly that it lies ahead. That is why it appears with 때 even about the past — 어릴 때, “when I was little” — and why it forms a guess in 비가 올 것 같아요, “it looks like rain”. English speakers who think of it as “the future modifier” are surprised by both.
어릴 때 이 동네에 살았어요.I lived in this neighbourhood when I was little.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
“Something to eat” is something not yet eaten, so it takes -을: 먹을 거. 먹는 거 means “the things one eats” or “eating”, which answers a different question.
Not yet done: -eul after a consonant, an l after a vowel — and “something to eat” is meogeul geot.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.