The third attributive completes the set. Where -는 marks a present action and -(으)ㄴ a completed one, -(으)ㄹ marks an action that has not happened yet — it is future, intended, planned, or merely hypothetical. English often reaches for "will" here, but the sharper translation is usually the infinitive "to ~": 마실 물 is not "water that will drink" but "water to drink." Learning -(으)ㄹ well pays off twice, because it is also the hidden engine inside a huge family of patterns: -(으)ㄹ 때 ("when"), -(으)ㄹ 것이다 ("will"), and -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 ("can").
The rule: -을 after a consonant, -ㄹ after a vowel or ㄹ
The form splits exactly like the past attributive:
- Consonant stem → -을: 먹다 → 먹을, 읽다 → 읽을, 앉다 → 앉을.
- Vowel stem → -ㄹ: 가다 → 갈, 마시다 → 마실, 하다 → 할, 사다 → 살.
- ㄹ-stem → -ㄹ (one ㄹ, no doubling): 만들다 → 만들, 살다 → 살, 팔다 → 팔.
내일 만날 사람이 한 명 있어요.
naeil mannal sarami han myeong isseoyo
I have one person to meet tomorrow.
읽을 책 좀 추천해 주세요.
ilgeul chaek jom chucheonhae juseyo
Please recommend a book for me to read.
여기 앉을 자리 있어요?
yeogi anjeul jari isseoyo
Is there a seat to sit in here?
For a ㄹ-stem the ending -ㄹ simply merges with the stem's own ㄹ — you write and say a single ㄹ: 만들다 → 만들 (음식), not ×만들을 and not ×만드ㄹ. This is the one attributive where a ㄹ-stem keeps its ㄹ rather than dropping it, because the ending itself is ㄹ.
파티에서 만들 음식을 같이 정해요.
patieseo mandeul eumsigeul gachi jeonghaeyo
Let's decide together on the food we'll make for the party.
The meaning: unrealized, not merely "future"
The core of -(으)ㄹ is irrealis — the action lives in the realm of the not-yet-real. That covers several English shades at once:
- Purpose ("to ~"): 마실 물 ("water to drink"), 입을 옷 ("clothes to wear").
- Plan / intention: 주말에 갈 곳 ("a place to go on the weekend").
- Prediction / future: 곧 도착할 기차 ("the train that will arrive soon").
- Obligation ("to-do"): 할 일 ("work to do / things to do").
마실 것 좀 드릴까요?
masil geot jom deurilkkayo
Shall I get you something to drink?
오늘 할 일이 정말 많아요.
oneul hal iri jeongmal manayo
I have a lot to do today.
살 집을 아직 못 구했어요.
sal jibeul ajik mot guhaesseoyo
I still haven't found a house to live in.
In natural speech 할 일 fuses to [n] is inserted before 일 and then assimilates to the preceding ㄹ — regular ㄴ-insertion plus lateralization — though, like other cross-word sound changes, the romanization keeps the two words apart. And note the contrast with the past: 살 집 is "a house to live in" (future/unrealized) while 산 집 would be "the house I bought" (past). The single letter ㄹ vs ㄴ flips the whole time frame.
-(으)ㄹ is the backbone of bigger patterns
Much of intermediate Korean is -(으)ㄹ followed by a bound noun or fixed phrase. Recognizing the attributive inside these demystifies them:
| Pattern | Built from | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -(으)ㄹ 때 | -(으)ㄹ + 때 (time) | "when / at the time of ~ing" |
| -(으)ㄹ 것이다 (거예요) | -(으)ㄹ + 것 (thing) + 이다 | "will ~ / intend to ~" |
| -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 | -(으)ㄹ + 수 (way) + 있다 | "can / be able to ~" |
| -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다 | -(으)ㄹ + 줄 + 알다 | "know how to ~" |
밥 먹을 때 항상 물을 많이 마셔요.
bap meogeul ttae hangsang mureul mani masyeoyo
I always drink a lot of water when I eat.
저는 매운 음식도 잘 먹을 수 있어요.
jeoneun maeun eumsikdo jal meogeul su isseoyo
I can eat spicy food just fine.
Each of these is a full topic — -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 (ability) and -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다 (know-how) have their own pages — but every one of them starts by attaching the same -(으)ㄹ you're learning here to the verb. Master the attributive and these patterns become "-(으)ㄹ + a noun," not four separate mysteries.
Pronunciation: the following consonant tenses
A pronunciation quirk worth flagging: right after -(으)ㄹ, a following ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ/ㅅ/ㅈ becomes tense. So 읽을 것 is heard as [일글 껃], 갈 데 as [갈 떼], 할 수 as [할 쑤]. The spelling and the official romanization do not show this tensing (we write 읽을 것 → ilgeul geot, 할 수 → hal su), but your ears should expect the hardened sound. This is one of the most reliable tensification triggers in the language and a good clue that a -(으)ㄹ modifier is present.
읽을 것이 너무 많아서 눈이 아파요.
ilgeul geosi neomu manaseo nuni apayo
There's so much to read that my eyes hurt. (읽을 것 sounds like [일글 껃])
-(으)ㄹ modifier vs. -(으)ㄹ 거예요 sentence-ender
Learners often blur two things that share the letters -(으)ㄹ. The modifier -(으)ㄹ sits before a noun (마실 물, 갈 사람). The future sentence-ender -(으)ㄹ 거예요 ends the sentence (마실 거예요 "I'll drink it"). They're relatives — the ender is literally the modifier plus 것이다 — but they land in different slots. If a noun follows, it's the modifier; if the clause stops, it's the ender.
마실 물이 없어서 편의점에 갈 거예요.
masil muri eopseoseo pyeonuijeome gal geoyeyo
There's no water to drink, so I'll go to the convenience store.
Here 마실 물 uses the modifier (a noun 물 follows), while 갈 거예요 is the future ender (the sentence stops) — both in one breath.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1 — Using past -(으)ㄴ where an unrealized "to-do" is meant. -(으)ㄴ reports a completed action; -(으)ㄹ points at one not yet done.
❌ 마신 물 좀 주세요.
Wrong for 'give me water to drink' — 마신 물 means 'the water I drank'; you need the prospective 마실 물.
✅ 마실 물 좀 주세요.
masil mul jom juseyo
Please give me some water to drink.
Mistake 2 — Doubling the ㄹ on a ㄹ-stem. The ending -ㄹ merges with the stem ㄹ; you write one ㄹ.
❌ 만들을 음식을 정했어요.
Wrong — 만들다's attributive is 만들, not 만들을.
✅ 만들 음식을 정했어요.
mandeul eumsigeul jeonghaesseoyo
We decided on the food to make.
Mistake 3 — Adding -을 to a vowel stem. Vowel stems take bare -ㄹ.
❌ 내일 갈을 사람 손 드세요.
Wrong — 가다 is a vowel stem; the form is 갈, not 갈을 / 가을.
✅ 내일 갈 사람 손 드세요.
naeil gal saram son deuseyo
Everyone who's going tomorrow, raise your hand.
Mistake 4 — Using the future ender 거예요 where a modifier is needed. 거예요 ends a sentence; to modify a noun you need the bare -(으)ㄹ.
❌ 먹을 거예요 없어요.
Wrong — 거예요 is a sentence-ender, not a modifier; 'there's nothing to eat' is 먹을 게(=것이) 없어요.
✅ 먹을 게 없어요.
meogeul ge eopseoyo
There's nothing to eat.
Key Takeaways
- Prospective attributive = -(으)ㄹ: consonant stem → -을 (먹을), vowel/ㄹ stem → -ㄹ (갈, 마실, 만들 — a ㄹ-stem keeps one ㄹ).
- It marks an unrealized action — future, planned, or hypothetical — and usually reads as English "to ~" rather than "will."
- It is the backbone of -(으)ㄹ 때, -(으)ㄹ 거예요, -(으)ㄹ 수 있다, and -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다 — all "-(으)ㄹ + a bound noun."
- After -(으)ㄹ, a following consonant tenses in speech ([일글 껃]), though spelling and romanization don't show it.
- Don't confuse the modifier -(으)ㄹ (before a noun) with the future ender -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (ends the sentence).
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- Past Verb Relative Clauses: -(으)ㄴTOPIK 2 — The past attributive -(으)ㄴ turns a verb into a modifier for a completed action (간 사람 'the person who went', 먹은 밥 'the rice I ate') — and the same shape that means PAST on a verb means PRESENT on an adjective, so you must read the word's class first.
- Present Verb Relative Clauses: -는TOPIK 2 — The present attributive -는 turns any action verb into a modifier that sits in front of a noun (먹는 사람 'a person who eats') — covering both English simple present and progressive, dropping ㄹ before it, and reserved strictly for verbs, never adjectives.
- 것 Head-Noun Clauses (the thing/one that…)TOPIK 2 — When a modifying clause has no specific noun to attach to, Korean supplies the bound noun 것 as a generic head — 'the thing / the one that…' — and contracts it heavily in speech (거, 게, 걸, 건).
- -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 / 없다: Can / CannotTOPIK 2 — Korean's all-purpose 'can / cannot' — a bound noun 수 ('way, means') plus 있다/없다 — covering both learned ability and situational possibility, and how it differs from the confident inference 리가 없다.
- -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다 / 모르다: Know How ToTOPIK 3 — The bound noun 줄 ('the way, the method') plus 알다/모르다 expresses know-how — a learned skill — distinct from the general ability of 수 있다; plus its second life, -(으)ㄴ/는 줄 알았다 'assumed that.'