Verb Endings

Endings, added to bases, make the verb form complete. In addition to this function, they often perform another job at the same time: they tell whether or not you have come to the end of a sentence.

Any form of a verb ends a CLAUSE in Korean. Some clauses are FINAL: the verb at the end completes a sentence. Some are NON-FINAL: the verb form does not complete a sentence: in this category are the infinitive (-어), the suspective (-지), the -고 form, the as-soon-as form in -자마자, and the sequential (-(으)니(까)) ending.

The most important final endings you have learned so far are:

1. the polite-style ending -어요 which consists of the infinitive (-어, -아, etc.) + the polite particle 요, and
2. the formal-style endings in -(스)ㅂ니다 (declaratives) and -(스)ㅂ니까 (questions), etc.
   The polite-style ending typically finishes a sentence, whether it is a present-tense form (attached to a base), a past-tense form (attached to a past base), or a future-presumptive form (attached to a future base):

When you use this ending at the end of your sentence, it implies that you are on informal, though dignified, terms with the person you are talking to.

ONE-SHAPE ENDINGS and TWO-SHAPE ENDINGS

Endings are either ONE-SHAPE ENDINGS or TWO-SHAPE ENDINGS. One-shape endings are much the same, regardless whether they are attached to a vowel base or a consonant base. Two-shape endings have one shape which attaches to vowel bases and another which attaches to consonant bases. For purposes of attaching endings, the group of vowel bases includes not only simple bases (like 가-, 서-, 기다리-, 보-, etc.) but also ALL honorific bases since each ends in -(으)시- regardless of the plain base on which it is built:

Similarly, all past bases and future bases are consonant bases, regardless of what sort of base you began with:

Here are all the endings you have learned, grouped according to whether they have are one-shape or two-shape.
ONE-SHAPE ENDINGS

past marker-ㅆ-suspectivesuppositive-지-지요but?-지만future-presumptiverhetor. retort-겠–잖아요고-formdictionary form-고 (싶-,있-)-다as soon as?-자 마자

TWO-SHAPE ENDINGS

One special feature about two-shape endings is that some of them, like the purposive ending -(으)러 (and other endings you will learn in volume two), are attached to the EXTENDED base of L-extending bases:
노-ㄹ- play 놀러
Several peculiarities, however, must be mentioned about one-shape endings. (The past marker -ㅆ- is omitted here because it is attached to infinitives rather than directly to other bases and so does not follow the same rules.)

1. The base 잡수시- eat can abbreviate to 잡숫- before one-shape endings:

2. One-shape endings are attached to the EXTENDED BASES of L-extending verbs:

3. When a one-shape ending that begins with ㄷ, ㅈ, or ㄱ is attached to a consonant base that ends in ㅎ, the strings -ㅎ.ㄷ-, -ㅎ.ㅈ-, and -ㅎ.ㄱ- are pronounced-ㅌ-, -ㅊ-, and -ㅋ-:

This is true also of ㄶ and ㅀ :

4. When a one-shape ending is attached to a consonant base that ends in /w/, the /w/ changes to ㅂ:

Were it not for the other forms (더워, 더우시- ) we would not know that such bases are different from the usual bases ending in ㅂ like 입- wear: 입지, 입고, 입겠-;
입어,입으시-. In traditional Korean grammar, the /w/-verbs are called “irregular ㅂ- verbs.”

5. When a one-shape ending is attached to a consonant base that ends in ㄹ, theㄹ changes to ㄷ:

Notice the difference between the behavior of these bases and the L-extending vowel bases: 드-ㄹ- lift; cost has the forms 들지, 들고, 들겠-. The infinitives are the same; both 드-ㄹ- and 들- come out as 들어.

6. The usual automatic sound changes take place when a base ending in a consonant attaches an ending shape that begins with a consonant. First, if the base ends in a consonant or cluster other than ㅂ, ㄷ, ㄱ, ㅁ, ㄴ, ㄹ, in pronouncing the resulting form you reduce the consonant or cluster to one of those: ㅄ and ㅍ are treated like ㅂ ; ㄲ and usually ㄺ are treated like ㄱ; ㄻ is treated like ㅁ; ㄵ is treated likeㄴ; ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, and ㅊ are all treated like ㄷ.

Next, there are a number of automatic adjustments between the syllable-final consonant at the end of the base and the syllable-beginning consonant at the start of the ending.

A. Voiceless consonants are doubled (reinforced) after a voiceless consonant, so that

However, -ㄱ.ㄱ- comes out just [ㄲ] (since you don’t get the same consonant repeated more than once).

Note that sequences like -ㄷㄱ- and -ㄷㅈ- can come out like [ㄲ] and [ㅉ], e.g. 받고 [바꼬] receives, and. . . and 받지요 [바찌요] Of course I receive it!

B. After verb-base final ㅁ or ㄴ (or an ㄹ that is reduced from a cluster ? simple ㄹ changes to ㄷ), you reinforce (= double) a ㄷ, ㅈ, ㅅ, or ㄱ that begins an ending. Since the Korean spelling does not show this doubling, you should be especially mindful of this:

Below is a chart of the major verb endings you have learned so far with some representative bases (‘—–‘ means the form is odd or does not exist):

Representative Bases and Endings