Future Tense -(으)ㄹ 거예요: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Choose ㄹ 거예요, 을 거예요 or plain 거예요 by the last sound of the stem.
• Build future forms for regular, ㄹ-stem and common irregular verbs.
• Tell a plan from a fixed schedule in the present tense.
• Switch to the formal -(으)ㄹ 겁니다 and the casual -(으)ㄹ 거야.

Before you start: you should know the polite ending -아요/어요 and the verb-last sentence pattern. Time: about 30 minutes.

What Does Future Tense -(으)ㄹ 거예요 Mean?

Future tense -(으)ㄹ 거예요 marks something that has not happened yet and that the speaker plans or expects. It is the form most beginner courses teach first for "will", because it works for plans, for predictions and for questions about the listener's plans.

The ending is built from three parts. The first part is -(으)ㄹ, a modifier ending that turns a verb into a description of a future thing. The second part is 거, the spoken short form of 것 ("thing"). The third part is 이에요 ("is"), which melts into 예요. So 갈 거예요 is literally "it is a thing that will go", and learners can read it as "will go".

Compare the present with the future:

The only change is the ending. The stem 먹 stays the same, and 을 거예요 replaces 어요.

A First Example

Listen to each sentence at normal speed, then slowly.

1. 내일 친구를 만날 거예요. (naeil chingureul mannal geoyeyo) "I will meet a friend tomorrow."

Pronunciation: [내일 친구를 만날꺼예요]. The 거 after ㄹ is spoken with a tense sound, like 꺼. This is a regular rule in the 국립국어원 standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법, Article 27), and Revised Romanization does not mark it, so the romanization still reads geoyeyo.

2. 비가 올 거예요. (biga ol geoyeyo) "It will probably rain."

Pronunciation: [비가 올꺼예요]. Nobody plans the rain, so the sentence is a prediction. The same ending works for both jobs, and the context shows which one is meant.

One sentence is a plan and the other is a prediction, yet both use the same pattern. The next section shows how the pattern is built from any verb.

How Does -(으)ㄹ 거예요 Work?

The ending depends on the last sound of the stem, which is the part left when you remove 다 from the dictionary form. A vowel stem takes ㄹ 거예요, a consonant stem takes 을 거예요, and a stem that already ends in ㄹ takes only 거예요.

Pattern Table

Three details make the table easy to apply.

1. Check only the last sound of the stem. 가 ends in a vowel, 먹 ends in the consonant ㄱ, and 살 ends in ㄹ.
2. Do not double the ㄹ. For ㄹ-stems the ending does not add another ㄹ. 살 거예요 is right, and 살을 거예요 is wrong.
3. Write 거예요 as a separate word. 거 is a dependent noun, so the spelling leaves a space: 갈 거예요, not 갈거예요.

Irregular Stems

Irregular stems change before the vowel in 을, so the irregular change comes first. This differs from -겠-, which starts with a consonant and leaves most irregular stems alone.

The full set of irregular classes is drilled in how to conjugate Korean verbs in the future tense. Use the Korean verb conjugator when you are unsure of a stem.

Other Speech Levels

The stem rule stays the same at every speech level. Only the last part changes.

Romanization: 갈 거예요 is gal geoyeyo, 갈 겁니다 is gal geomnida, and 갈 거야 is gal geoya. The plain written form 갈 것이다 (gal geosida) keeps the full word 것. With the forms laid out, the next section builds one sentence step by step.

How Do You Make a Sentence with -(으)ㄹ 거예요?

To make a future sentence, take the dictionary form, remove 다, check the last sound of the stem, add ㄹ, 을 or nothing, and finish with 거예요. Follow these steps with 내일 친구를 만날 거예요.

1. Start from the dictionary form. 만나다 ("to meet").
2. Remove 다. The stem is 만나.
3. Check the last sound. 나 ends in the vowel ㅏ, so the next piece is ㄹ.
4. Add ㄹ to the stem. 만나 + ㄹ becomes 만날.
5. Add 거예요 after a space. 만날 거예요.
6. Add the other words. 내일 친구를: 내일 친구를 만날 거예요.

You'll know it worked when the verb part ends in ㄹ or 을 and is followed by a separate 거예요. Common mistake at this step: attaching 을 to a vowel stem, as in 만나을 거예요. Check the last sound first.

Repeat the steps with two more verbs. For 먹다, the stem is 먹, which ends in a consonant, so the future form is 먹을 거예요. For 살다, the stem is 살, which already ends in ㄹ, so the future form is 살 거예요.

With the sentence built, the next section sets the future form beside the two forms that learners mix it up with.

How Is -(으)ㄹ 거예요 Different from the Present Tense and -겠-?

Use -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for a plan or a neutral prediction, the present tense for a fixed schedule, and -겠- for a decision made now or a guess from evidence. All three can point to a future time, but each one shows how sure the speaker is and where the plan came from.

Pronunciation: 내일 학교에 가요 is [내일 학꾜에 가요] (naeil hakgyoe gayo), 내일 학교에 갈 거예요 is [내일 학꾜에 갈꺼예요] (naeil hakgyoe gal geoyeyo), and 내일 학교에 가겠어요 is [내일 학꾜에 가게써요] (naeil hakgyoe gagesseoyo).

The present form suits a timetable, such as 일요일에 시험이 있어요 [이료이레 시허미 이써요] ("There is an exam on Sunday"). The -겠- form sounds like a vow when a plan is simply a plan, so a learner who answers "What are you doing tomorrow?" with 가겠어요 may sound too dramatic. The full comparison is in -겠- vs -(으)ㄹ 거예요, and the lesson on future guess -겠- teaches the second form. The wider present forms are in Korean present tense uses. The next section covers guesses and questions.

Guesses and Questions with -(으)ㄹ 거예요

The same ending covers three more jobs: a guess about a state, a question about the listener's plan, and a negative plan. Each job keeps the same stem rule.

Romanization: geu sarameun bappeul geoyeyo, haksaengil geoyeyo, jumare mwo hal geoyeyo, and naeireun an gal geoyeyo. A guess is clearest with a state word (an adjective or 이다), because a state cannot be planned, or with an event no one controls, such as rain. Adding 아마 ("perhaps") makes the meaning clearer: 아마 비가 올 거예요 ("It will probably rain"). A softer guess, common in both speech and writing, uses -(으)ㄹ 것 같다, which is explained in Guessing and Conjecture.

Limitation: this lesson covers the polite plan and prediction form. It does not cover other intention endings such as -(으)ㄹ게요 or -(으)려고 하다, which belong to Korean sentence endings. A past plan, "I was going to go", uses the form 갈 거였어요 and is introduced at a later level. The next section lists the errors to avoid.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make?

Six mistakes cover most wrong future forms.

1. Adding 을 to a vowel stem. Learners copy the 을 of 먹을 to every verb. Actually only consonant stems take 을. 갈을 거예요 is wrong, and 갈 거예요 is right.
2. Doubling the ㄹ of ㄹ-stems. 살을 거예요 is wrong for "I will live". Say 살 거예요.
3. Dropping the space. 갈거예요 is a spelling error. 거 is a separate word.
4. Using the future form for a timetable. 내일 오전 아홉 시에 수업이 있을 거예요 sounds unsure about a schedule. For a fixed event, say 수업이 있어요.
5. Using the present form for a prediction. 비가 와요 states that rain is happening. Say 비가 올 거예요 for rain that has not started.
6. Leaving an irregular stem unchanged. 듣을 거예요 is wrong, because 듣 changes to 들. Say 들을 거예요.

The same habits carry over to the formal and casual styles, and the sentence pattern behind every example is explained in the Korean SOV sentence pattern. Now test yourself.

Practice and Answers

Try all four items before you read the answers. Each answer has audio, normal and slow.

1. Choose the form. 살다 ("to live"): 살을 거예요 or 살 거예요?
2. Fix the error. 내일 학교에 갈을 거예요. (The speaker wants to say "I will go to school tomorrow.")
3. Translate. "I will study Korean tomorrow."
4. Write your own. Write one future sentence about your weekend, using 보다 (to watch) or 먹다 (to eat).

Answer Key

1. 살 거예요 (sal geoyeyo) Pronounced [살꺼예요]. The stem 살 already ends in ㄹ, so only 거예요 is added.

2. 내일 학교에 갈 거예요. (naeil hakgyoe gal geoyeyo) Pronounced [내일 학꾜에 갈꺼예요]. The stem 가 ends in a vowel, so it takes ㄹ.

3. 내일 한국어를 공부할 거예요. (naeil hangugeoreul gongbuhal geoyeyo) Pronounced [내일 한구거를 공부할꺼예요]. The stem 공부하 ends in a vowel, so 하 plus ㄹ becomes 할.

4. Sample answer: 주말에 영화를 볼 거예요. (jumare yeonghwareul bol geoyeyo) "I will watch a movie at the weekend." Pronounced [주마레 영화를 볼꺼예요]. Any weekend plan with a correct ㄹ, 을 or plain 거예요 is right.

If you chose the wrong ending, check the last sound of the stem: a vowel takes ㄹ, a consonant takes 을, and ㄹ takes nothing. Then continue with the next lessons.

Next Lessons and Where to Go from Here

After future tense -(으)ㄹ 거예요, the natural next lesson is future guess -겠-, which adds offers, decisions made now and guesses from evidence. Then study -겠- vs -(으)ㄹ 거예요 to choose between them. The set overview, Korean future tense, lists every lesson in order.

This page uses Revised Romanization only as a learning aid; the Hangul is the reference. To remember the idea in one line: future tense -(으)ㄹ 거예요 adds ㄹ after a vowel, 을 after a consonant and nothing after ㄹ, then 거예요, to state a plan or a prediction.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does -(으)ㄹ 거예요 Mean in Korean?

-(으)ㄹ 거예요 is the polite ending for a plan or a prediction. It means "will" or "is going to", as in 내일 갈 거예요 ("I will go tomorrow") and 비가 올 거예요 ("It will probably rain"). The same ending covers the speaker's own plans, other people's plans and neutral guesses about what comes next.

Is It 을 거예요 or ㄹ 거예요?

Look at the last sound of the stem. A stem that ends in a vowel takes ㄹ 거예요, as in 가다 to 갈 거예요. A stem that ends in a consonant takes 을 거예요, as in 먹다 to 먹을 거예요. A stem that already ends in ㄹ takes only 거예요, as in 살다 to 살 거예요.

Can -(으)ㄹ 거예요 Be Used for Guesses?

Yes. With a person's plan it means "will", and with a state or an event outside anyone's control it means "probably". 비가 올 거예요 is "It will probably rain", and 그 사람은 바쁠 거예요 is "He is probably busy". Adding 아마 ("perhaps") before the sentence makes the guess meaning clearer.

How Do I Say "Will" in a Formal or Casual Style?

Change only the last part. Formal speech uses -(으)ㄹ 겁니다, as in 내일 갈 겁니다, for presentations and customer service. Casual speech to close friends uses -(으)ㄹ 거야, as in 내일 갈 거야. The stem rule is the same in every style: ㄹ after vowels, 을 after consonants.

Should I Use the Present Tense or -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for Tomorrow?

Use the present tense for a fixed schedule, such as 내일 학교에 가요 ("I go to school tomorrow"), and -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for a plan or a prediction, such as 내일 친구를 만날 거예요. Both can be correct for the same day. The future form stresses that the event has not happened yet.