Lesson 111: verbs in the present tense

Up to here every sentence has ended in 이다. This is the lesson that adds real verbs.

Korean verbs are cited in the dictionary as stem + 다 — 가다, 먹다, 하다. The 다 is never used as-is in speech; you strip it off and attach an ending. Which ending is the whole lesson.

Vocabulary: places#

Used with the question 어디(에) 가요? — where are you going?

회의실 is pronounced [회이실]. The ㅢ in a non-initial syllable is routinely levelled to [이] — the same thing happens to 회의해요 [회이해요] below.

가: 어디(에) 가요?      Where are you going?
나: 회사(에) 가요.      I'm going to the office.

Casual polite: -아요 / -어요 / -해요#

Three endings, and the choice is made by the last vowel in the stem.

Note that it is the vowel, not the last letter. 먹다’s stem is 먹, which ends in a consonant — but its vowel is ㅓ, so it takes -어요.

The contractions#

Adding the ending often produces two vowels in a row, and Korean collapses them:

Two patterns: identical vowels merge (가아요 → 가요), and different ones fuse into a compound vowel (오아요 → 와요, 마시어요 → 마셔요). Stems ending in a consonant have nothing to collapse, so 살아요 and 먹어요 stay long — and link, as always.

하다 verbs#

하다 is to do, and it attaches to a noun to make a verb out of it. This is the most productive pattern in the language — a large share of Korean verbs are built this way, including every imported one.

하다 is irregular — 하 + 아요 should give 하요, and gives 해요 instead. It is the one you will use most, so the irregularity costs nothing.

Formal polite: -ㅂ니다 / -습니다#

The 하십시오체 form. Here the rule is simpler — it depends on whether the stem ends in a vowel or a consonant, and nothing else.

With -ㅂ니다 the ㅂ is not a syllable of its own — it goes into the 받침 slot of the stem’s last syllable. 가 + ㅂ니다 = 갑니다.

Two things fall out of comparing the tables. First, the formal form asks and tells with different words (갑니다 / 갑니까?) while the casual form uses one for both (가요 / 가요?). Second, the formal form is easier to conjugate — no vowel harmony, no contractions. If you are unsure of a casual form under pressure, the formal one is both safer socially and simpler mechanically.

Practice#

A: 지금 뭐 해요?
   What are you doing now?
B: 일해요.
   I'm working.

A: 리사 씨는 지금 뭐 해요?
   What is Lisa doing now?
B: 리사 씨는 전화해요.
   Lisa is making a call.

지금 is now; 뭐 is what, from lesson 108.

Work culture: where to sit#

Korean seating is not arbitrary and it is not first-come. Every shared space has an upper seat (상석) and a lower seat, and the rule generating them is the same everywhere: the senior person sits furthest from the door.

The logic is practical rather than symbolic. Whoever is nearest the entrance deals with interruptions — the door, arriving documents, a call to fetch something. That is the junior’s job, so that is the junior’s seat.

In the meeting room#

• Senior seats are in the middle of the table, facing away from the entrance.
• Junior seats are nearest the door.
• The junior sits by the door specifically because they will be getting up the most.
• Hold the door for seniors coming in and going out. This is baseline manners, not an extra courtesy.

In a car or taxi#

That last exception matters: if the senior person is driving themselves, the front passenger seat becomes the upper seat, and leaving it empty while you sit in the back is a small insult.

In the lift#

• The senior stands in the far corner from the doors.
• The junior stands by the buttons.
• The junior presses the floor, and holds door open until everyone senior has left.

Greeting a group#

Greet the highest-status person first, then the oldest. Those are not always the same person, and status wins.

How do you tell who that is before anyone has spoken? Watch the doorway — the most senior person walks in front and enters the room first. The order a Korean delegation walks through a door is a reliable org chart.