-는 vs -(으)ㄴ vs -(으)ㄹ: Differences, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Pick the right ending by checking the word class first and the time second.
• Say "food I eat, ate and will eat" with 먹는, 먹은 and 먹을.
• Say "a small house" and "a house that used to be small" with 작은 and 작았던.
• Handle 있다, 없다, 이다 and verbs that describe a state.

Prerequisites: the three single lessons, -는 noun modifier, -(으)ㄴ adjective and past modifier and -(으)ㄹ future modifier. Time: about 15 minutes.

Key facts

• A noun modifier is a form that describes the noun after it. Korean puts it before the noun.
• Ask two questions in order: is the word an action verb or an adjective, and when does it happen?
• Action verbs have a three-way choice. Adjectives have one present form and use another ending for the past.
• 있다 and 없다 always take -는, including in 맛있는 and 재미없는.
• The modifier forms are the same in casual, polite and formal speech.

Listen to the three phrases that anchor this lesson.

The next section shows the three endings next to each other.

What Do -는, -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ Mean?

The three endings mean "now", "finished" and "not yet" for an action verb. A noun modifier is a form that goes before a noun and describes it. In English the same job is done by "that I eat", "that I ate" and "that I will eat". Korean uses one short ending for each time and puts the whole phrase before the noun.

A First Example

Notice that the form 작은 is the same ending as 먹은, but it means "now" on the adjective and "finished" on the verb. The next section turns this observation into a rule.

How Do You Choose the Right Ending?

Choose the ending by checking three things in order: special words, then word class, then time. This order matters because the same ending, -(으)ㄴ, has two meanings.

1. Check for special words. Is it 있다 or 없다 (or a word ending in them)? Use -는 at once. Is it 이다? Use 인, 이었던/였던 or 일, as in 이다 modifier 인 이었던 일.
2. Identify the class. Does the word name an action (먹다, 가다, 읽다) or a quality (작다, 예쁘다, 춥다)?
3. Identify the time. Is the action happening or habitual, finished, or not yet done?

The retrospective ending -던 also exists for action verbs. 먹던 음식 means "food I used to eat" or "food I was eating". It has its own lesson: -던 retrospective modifier.

One Rule, Many Stems

The ending changes shape with the last sound of the stem, but the choice of ending does not. This sampler shows the three endings on stem types that learners find hard.

Two patterns stand out. First, -는 attaches to every stem as it is, and only ㄹ-stems drop their ㄹ (만들다 gives 만드는). Second, -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ both need the stem-ending check, so ㄹ-stems drop ㄹ for -(으)ㄴ (만든) and keep it for -(으)ㄹ (만들).

Adjectives need only one present form.

The next section applies the rule to one verb in four meanings.

Worked Example: One Verb, Four Meanings

To see the system at work, take the verb 입다 ("wear") and one noun, 옷 ("clothes"). Four endings give four different phrases.

The same method works with 살다 ("live") and 집 ("house"): 사는 집 is "the house where I live", 산 집 is "the house where I lived" and 살 집 is "a house to live in". Each time, the choice depends only on the time of the action.

Here is the thinking process for the sentence "Show me the movie that you are watching now".

1. Word class. 보다 ("watch") is an action verb.
2. Time. The action is happening now, so choose -는.
3. Build. 보 + 는 gives 보는, and 보는 영화 means "the movie that you are watching".
4. Check. The result is 지금 보는 영화, with 지금 ("now") before the modifier.

You'll know it worked when the time word in the sentence agrees with the ending. 어제 ("yesterday") goes with -(으)ㄴ, 지금 ("now") with -는 and 내일 ("tomorrow") with -(으)ㄹ.

The next section lists the words that need extra care.

Which Words Break the Pattern?

Four groups of words do not follow the simple verb-and-adjective rule.

있다, 없다 and their compounds take -는. 있는 사람 means "a person who is here", 없는 사람 means "a person who is absent", and 맛있는 음식 means "tasty food". Even the compounds that look like adjectives follow this. The complete list is in 있는 없는 modifier 재미있는.

Verbs of state use -(으)ㄴ for the present. A few verbs describe a state that began earlier. 결혼한 사람 means "a married person" and 잘생긴 사람 means "a good-looking person". Learn them as set words.

알다 and 모르다 are a pair. The present forms are 아는 사람 ("someone I know") and 모르는 사람 ("someone I do not know"). Both use -는 even though knowing feels like a state.

이다 has its own forms. 학생인 친구 means "a friend who is a student". The ending -는 never attaches to 이다.

An honest limit: Korean grammar books sort 있다 and 없다 differently, calling them verbs, adjectives or a separate class. The practical rule is stable, which is to use -는.

What this lesson does not cover. It does not cover the full set of relative clauses, which is the topic of relative clauses in korean. It also leaves out the patterns built on each ending, such as -(으)ㄹ 수 있다.

The next section collects the errors that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with the Three Endings?

Learners make seven predictable mistakes. Each one has a reason and a fix.

Learners often put -는 on an adjective. Actually adjectives take -(으)ㄴ. Wrong: 예쁘는 꽃. Right: 예쁜 꽃. Fix: ask whether the word names an action or a quality.

Learners often read -(으)ㄴ on a verb as the present. Actually it means finished. Wrong: 지금 먹은 음식 for "the food I am eating". Right: 지금 먹는 음식. Fix: for an action in progress choose -는.

Learners often use -(으)ㄴ on an adjective to say "was". Actually -(으)ㄴ is the present for adjectives. Wrong: 어릴 때 작은 집 for "the small house of my childhood". Right: 작았던 집. Fix: use -았/었던 for a past quality.

Learners often use -는 with a plan. Actually -(으)ㄹ points forward. Weak: 내일 먹는 음식. Better: 내일 먹을 음식. Fix: choose -(으)ㄹ for an action that has not happened.

Learners often give 있다 compounds the adjective ending. Actually they take -는. Wrong: 맛있은 음식. Right: 맛있는 음식. Fix: check the last two syllables.

Learners often forget the ㄹ rule. Actually ㄹ-stems drop ㄹ before -는 and -(으)ㄴ but keep it before -(으)ㄹ. Wrong: 만들는 음식. Right: 만드는 음식. Fix: remember that 만들 keeps ㄹ only with -(으)ㄹ.

Learners often leave irregular stems unchanged. Actually irregular stems rebuild before -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ. Wrong: 춥은 날씨. Right: 추운 날씨. Fix: ㄷ, ㅂ and ㅅ irregular stems change before -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ just as they do before -아요/어요 (추워요, 추운).

Practice turns the rule into a habit, as the next section shows.

Practice and Answers

Complete the four tasks, then compare your answers with the key.

Task 1: choose the ending. Write the correct form of the word before the noun.

1. 읽다 + 책, for a book you are reading now
2. 가다 + 곳, for a place you went last year
3. 크다 + 가방 (bag), for a bag that is big
4. 하다 + 일 (work), for work you will do tomorrow

Task 2: fix the error. Each phrase has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 예쁘는 옷
2. 재미없은 책
3. 만들는 음식

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "the book I read yesterday" and "a house that used to be small".

Task 4: write your own. Write three phrases with the verb 보다 and the noun 영화: one for now, one finished and one not yet.

Answer key

1. (1) 읽는 책 (2) 간 곳 (3) 큰 가방 (4) 할 일.
2. (1) 예쁜 옷 (2) 재미없는 책 (3) 만드는 음식.
3. 어제 읽은 책. 작았던 집.
4. 지금 보는 영화 (now), 어제 본 영화 (finished), 내일 볼 영화 (not yet).

If task 1 was correct, you can match the time to the ending. If task 2 was hard, return to the section on words that break the pattern. The next section points you to what follows.

Next Lessons after -는 vs -(으)ㄴ vs -(으)ㄹ

After -는 vs -(으)ㄴ vs -(으)ㄹ, learn how to combine a modifier with a full clause in relative clauses in korean. Then compare other confusing pairs in korean grammar differences.

The parent page, Noun-Modifying Forms, lists every lesson in this set in learning order.

This lesson covers the choice among the three main endings and the past forms of adjectives. It does not cover the full uses of -던. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text and spoken forms on this page were generated with AI assistance. Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -는 vs -(으)ㄴ vs -(으)ㄹ mean? The three endings let a verb or adjective describe a noun, and they show time. For action verbs, -는 is the present (먹는 음식, food I eat), -(으)ㄴ is the past (먹은 음식, food I ate) and -(으)ㄹ is the future (먹을 음식, food I will eat). For adjectives, -(으)ㄴ is the present (작은 집).

How do I choose between -는, -(으)ㄴ and -(으)ㄹ? Check the word class first, then the time. If the word is an action verb, pick -는 for now, -(으)ㄴ for finished and -(으)ㄹ for not yet. If it is an adjective, pick -(으)ㄴ for now. If it is 있다 or 없다, pick -는. Decide from that order each time, and the choice becomes automatic.

What is the most common mistake with these three endings? The most common mistakes are using -는 on an adjective, as in 예쁘는 꽃, and using -(으)ㄴ for a present action, as in 먹은 음식 for food you are eating. Adjectives need -(으)ㄴ, so the correct phrase is 예쁜 꽃. A present action needs -는, so the correct phrase is 먹는 음식.

How do I say that an adjective was true in the past? Use -았/었던, not -(으)ㄴ. 작은 집 is a house that is small now, and 작았던 집 is a house that used to be small. The ending -던 attaches to the bare stem and gives a similar meaning, as in 작던 집. Both -았/었던 and -던 look back to a past state.

Do I use these endings in speech, writing or both? Both. The three endings appear in everyday conversation, in messages and in written texts at every level, and the form before the noun is the same in casual, polite and formal speech. In speech, the consonant after -(으)ㄹ is pronounced tense, so 갈 곳 sounds like [갈꼳], while the spelling stays 갈 곳.

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