Simple Future Tense for Verbs

TL;DR

The simple future tense in Korean is super easy! 🎉 Just add -ㄹ/을 거예요 to verb stems to talk about future actions.

Use -ㄹ 거예요 after vowels or ㄹ, and -을 거예요 after consonants (except ㄹ).

This is the most common, natural way to express future plans or predictions in everyday Korean! 💬

What is the Simple Future Tense? 🔮

The simple future tense lets you talk about things that will happen or that you plan to do! 📅✨

In Korean, the most common way to express the future is by adding -ㄹ/을 거예요 to the verb stem. It's like saying "I'm going to..." or "I will..." in English! 💪

How to Form It 🛠️

Step 1: Remove -다 from the verb to get the stem 🌱

Step 2: Add the correct ending based on the last letter of the stem! 👇

When to Use -ㄹ 거예요 ✅

Use -ㄹ 거예요 when the verb stem ends in:

A vowel (ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅣ, etc.) 🎵

The consonant ㄹ 🎸

→ 가다 (to go) → 가 + ㄹ 거예요 = 갈 거예요 (I will go)

→ 보다 (to see) → 보 + ㄹ 거예요 = 볼 거예요 (I will see)

→ 만들다 (to make) → 만들 + ㄹ 거예요 = 만들 거예요 (I will make)

When to Use -을 거예요 ✅

Use -을 거예요 when the verb stem ends in a consonant (except ㄹ)! 🎯

→ 먹다 (to eat) → 먹 + 을 거예요 = 먹을 거예요 (I will eat)

→ 입다 (to wear) → 입 + 을 거예요 = 입을 거예요 (I will wear)

→ 듣다 (to listen) → 듣 + 을 거예요 = 들을 거예요 (I will listen)

More Example Sentences 💬

→ 내일 친구를 만날 거예요. (I will meet a friend tomorrow.)

→ 주말에 영화를 볼 거예요. (I will watch a movie on the weekend.)

→ 한국어를 열심히 공부할 거예요! (I will study Korean hard!)

→ 저녁에 뭐 먹을 거예요? (What will you eat for dinner?)

→ 비가 올 거예요. (It will rain.)

Exceptions ⚠️

듣다 (to listen) has an irregular stem! 👂

When you add -을 거예요, the ㄷ changes to ㄹ:

→ 듣다 → 들을 거예요 (NOT 듣을 거예요)

This happens with other ㄷ irregular verbs too, like 걷다 (to walk) → 걸을 거예요 🚶‍♀️

That's it! 🎊 You now know how to talk about the future in Korean like a pro! Keep practicing and you'll be predicting the future in no time! 🔮💜

Try the following exercise.

Fill in the blanks using the simple future tense -(으)ㄹ 거예요. 📅

내일 친구를 ___. (만나다)

Answer

만날 거예요

다음 주에 한국에 ___. (가다)

Answer

갈 거예요

저녁에 영화를 ___. (보다)

Answer

볼 거예요

주말에 집에서 ___. (쉬다)

Answer

쉴 거예요

이따가 커피를 ___. (마시다)

Answer

마실 거예요

내년에 대학교를 ___. (졸업하다)

Answer

졸업할 거예요

곧 비가 ___. (오다)

Answer

올 거예요

오후에 도서관에서 공부를 ___. (하다)

Answer

할 거예요

내일 일찍 ___. (일어나다)

Answer

일어날 거예요

다음 달에 새 컴퓨터를 ___. (사다)

Answer

살 거예요

Vocabulary

내일 - tomorrow

친구 - friend

만나다 - to meet

다음 주 - next week

한국 - Korea

가다 - to go

저녁 - evening

영화 - movie

보다 - to watch

주말 - weekend

집 - home

쉬다 - to rest

이따가 - later

커피 - coffee

마시다 - to drink

내년 - next year

대학교 - university

졸업하다 - to graduate

곧 - soon

비 - rain

오다 - to come

오후 - afternoon

도서관 - library

공부 - study

하다 - to do

일찍 - early

일어나다 - to wake up

다음 달 - next month

새 - new

컴퓨터 - computer

사다 - to buy

Common mistakes

🚫 Forgetting to drop ㄹ from verb stems ending in ㄹ before adding -(으)ㄹ (e.g., 만들다 → 만들 거예요, NOT 만들ㄹ 거예요)

🚫 Using -을 거예요 after vowel-ending stems instead of -ㄹ 거예요 (e.g., 가다 → 갈 거예요, NOT 가을 거예요)

🚫 Confusing -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (simple future) with -(으)려고 해요 (planning/intending to)

🚫 Adding 거예요 directly to the verb stem without the -(으)ㄹ ending