Definitions of Verb and Adjective
Verb: describes various physical and mental activities.
Adjective: describes the characteristics of an entity.
In English, the role of verbs and adjectives is distinct because verbs can be used for aspect, person, and tense while adjectives cannot. For example,
English Verb Adjective
1. Aspect => Students are studying Students are busying (X)
2. Person => He/she studies He/she busies (X)
3. Tense => Students studied Students busied (X)
However, the adjectives can be used just like the verbs in Korean. The only difference between verbs and adjectives in Korean is that adjectives cannot be used in imperative and propositional sentences. For example,
Difference Between Verb and Adjective
Verb: describes various physical and mental activities.
Adjective: describes the characteristics of an entity.
We learned that adjectives could be categorized as verbs in Korean. But there are significant differences between them in the way of usage. The verb and adjective can be used interchangeably in a sentence. However, an adjective cannot be accompanied by an object. For example,
좋다 = to be good
나는 사과를 좋다 (X)
나는 사과를 먹는다 = I eat an apple (O)
싫다 = to be hateful
동생은 곤충을 싫습니다 (X)
동생은 곤충을 잡습니다 = My brother catches insects (O)
Note #1:
-은/는: a subject case marker to distinguish if the word is used as a subject or object.
-을/를: an object case marker to distinguish if the word is used as a subject or object.
As shown above, adjectives cannot be accompanied by an object in a given sentence. However, if you want to add an object to a sentence you can change the adjectives into transitive verbs by adding the suffix “-아/어하다” to the verb stem. This suffix is usually used for adjectives of emotion such as “예쁘다 (to be pretty), 귀엽다 (to be cute), 무섭다 (to be scary), etc.
Note #2:
“-아하다” is used when the syllable of a verb stem contains the vowel [아] or [오].
“-어하다” is used when the syllable of a verb stem contains any vowel except for [아] or [오].
좋다 = to be good -> 좋아하다 = to like
이 사과가 좋다 = This apple is good
나는 사과를 좋아한다 = I like an apple
싫다 = to be hateful -> 싫어하다 = to dislike
곤충이 싫다 = Insects are hateful
동생은 곤충을 싫어합니다 = My brother dislikes insects
More adjectives
1. 슬프다 = to be sad -> 슬퍼하다 = to feel sympathy for
2. 무섭다 = to be scary -> 무서워하다 = to be afraid of
3. 괴롭다 = to be distressed -> 괴로워하다 = to be distressed with
4. 즐겁다 = to be joyful -> 즐거워하다 = to enjoy
5. 귀엽다 = to be cute -> 귀여워하다 = to fondle of
In addition, there would be a time when you want to express the ongoing change of state in certain situations. So if you want to express the progressive aspect with adjectives, you need to change the adjectives into action verbs by adding the suffix “-아/어지다” which means “to become or to get” to the verb stem first.
Note:
“-아지다” is used when the syllable of an adjective stem contains the vowel [아] or [오].
“-어지다” is used when the syllable of an adjective stem contains any vowel except for [아] or [오].
많다 = a lot -> 많아지다 = to become/get more
사과가 많다 = There are a lot of apples
할 일이 많아진다 = I get more work to do
바쁘다 = to be busy -> 바빠지다 = to get busier
나는 바쁘다 = I am busy
요즘 바빠진다 = I get busier these days
Then, you add the progressive aspect suffix “-고 있다 (be -ing) to the action verb stem.”
많아지다 = to become/get more -> 많아지고 있다
할 일이 많아진다 = I get more work to do
할 일이 많아지고 있다 = I am getting more work to do
바빠지다 = to get busier -> 바빠지고 있다
요즘 바빠진다 = I get busier these days
요즘 바빠지고 있다 = I am getting busier these days
More adjectives
1. 늦다 = to be late / 늦어지다 = to be more delayed / 늦어지고 있다 = to be getting delayed
2. 길다 = to be long / 길어지다 = to become longer / 길어지고 있다 = to be getting longer
3. 나쁘다 = to be bad / 나빠지다 = to get worse / 나빠지고 있다 = to be getting worse
4. 느리다 = to be slow / 느려지다 = to get slower / 느려지고 있다 = to be getting slower
5. 적다 = to be less / 적어지다 = to become less / 적어지고 있다 = to becoming less
Unique Verbs
Now, we will learn how to conjugate the verbs and the adjectives in the sentences depending on the time period (present, past, future). However, there are special verbs that we need to learn before we get into it.
1. The conjugation of “-이다”
The copula verb means “be (am, are, is)” in English and expresses that the subject is identified with the predicate noun. Unlike the other verbs, it shall be attached to the preceding noun. For example,
배우 (actor)
- 나는 배우다 = I am an actor (O)
- 나는 배우이다 = I am an actor (O)
학생 (student)
- 나는 학생다 (X)
- 나는 학생이다 = I am a student (O)
이것은 책상이다 = This is a desk
태희는 바보다 = Taehee is foolish
그녀는 선생님이다 = She is a teacher
저것은 자동차다 = That is a car
Note:
If the last letter of the noun ends with a vowel, you can drop [이].
If the last letter of the noun ends with a consonant, you cannot remove [이].
2. The conjugation of “-있다”
The verb “-있다” contains two different meanings. It can be used to express the location of a person or an object with the case marker “-에”. And it can also be used to express possession of something with the verb of existence. In this case, “-있다” could be translated as “to have” in English. Let’s take a look at some examples to understand this better.
Examples of the location-meaning verb “-있다”
나는 학교에 있다 = I am at school
동생은 미국에 있다 = My brother is in the US
집에 고양이가 있다 = There is a cat at home
Location Nouns I Examples
위 (On/Above) = 책상 위에 지우개가 있다 (There is an eraser on the desk)
아래 (Under) = 책상 아래 고양이가 있다 (There is a cat under the desk)
앞 (In front of) = 학교 앞에 병원이 있다 (There is a hospital in front of the school)
뒤 (Behind) = 내 뒤에 공이 있다 (There is a ball behind me)
옆 (Next to) = 내 옆에 친구가 있다 (There is a friend next to me)
안 (Inside) = 방 안에 컴퓨터가 있다 (There is a computer inside the room)
밖 (Outside) = 방 밖에 TV가 있다 (There is a TV outside the room)
밑 (Beneath) = 발 밑에 상자가 있다 (There is a box under my legs)
왼쪽(To the left) = 책상 왼쪽에 칠판이 있다 (There is a blackboard to the left of the desk)
오른쪽 (To the right) = 책상 오른쪽에 학생이 있다 (There is a student to the right of the desk)
건너편 (Across) = 학교 건너편에 약국이 있다 (There is a pharmacy across from school)
반대편/쪽 (On the opposite side) = 우리집은 학교 반대편/쪽에 있다 (My house is on the opposite side of the school)
가운데 (In the center) = 배꼽은 몸 가운데에 있다 (The naval is in the center of the body)
사이 (Between) = 나는 고양이와 강아지 사이에 있다 (I am between the cat and dog)
너머 (Over) = 이 마을 넘어에 도시가 있다 (There is a city over this village)
Examples of the possession-meaning verb “-있다”
나는 집에 컴퓨터가 있다 = I don’t have a computer at home (A computer belongs to me) 동생에게 친구가 많이 있다 = My brother has a lot of friends (Many friends belong to brother) 나는 태권도 자격증이 있다 = I have a taekwondo certificate (The certificate belongs to me)
3. Compound verbs with “가다” and “오다”
The verb “가다(to go)” is used to represent an action that the subject is going away from the speaker The verb “오다(to come)” is used to represent an action that the subject is getting closer to the speaker. Here are some examples that Koreans usually say in daily conversation regarding the compound verbs with “가다” and “오다”. It could be useful if you memorize them.
먼저 들어가세요 = Please go in first
먼저 들어오세요 = Please come in first
이거 가져가세요 = Please take it with you
이거 가져오세요 = Please bring it to me
빨리 나가세요 = Please go out quickly
빨리 나오세요 = Please come out quickly