가다 ("to go") is the model for regular vowel-stem verbs — stems that end in a vowel rather than a batchim. Set it beside 먹다 and the whole page is a study in contrast: where the consonant stem 먹- inserts a buffer 으 and adds -습니다, the vowel stem 가- does neither. Instead, a vowel stem has its own signature move — contraction, where the ending's vowel collapses into the stem's. Structurally, vowel stems are lighter than consonant stems: you lose the 으 but you have to handle the merge.
The stem at a glance
- Dictionary form: 가다 · stem: 가- · ends in: the vowel ㅏ (no batchim)
- Harmony vowel: the stem vowel is ㅏ, so -아/어 endings take 아 — but 가 + 아 immediately contracts to a single 가 (never ×가아).
- Vowel-stem signature: no 으 buffer anywhere (가세요, 간, 갈, 가면 — not ×가으세요, ×가은), and the formal present is -ㅂ니다 (갑니다), not -습니다.
Full paradigm: finite forms by speech level
The everyday polite default is 해요체; use it unless the situation calls for the formal or intimate column.
| Mood / tense | 합니다체 (formal) | 해요체 (informal-polite) | 반말 (intimate) | 한다체 (plain/written) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 갑니다 gamnida | 가요 gayo | 가 ga | 간다 ganda |
| Past | 갔습니다 gatseumnida | 갔어요 gasseoyo | 갔어 gasseo | 갔다 gatda |
| Future — 겠 (will/intend) | 가겠습니다 gagetseumnida | 가겠어요 gagesseoyo | 가겠어 gagesseo | 가겠다 gagetda |
| Future — (으)ㄹ 거예요 | 갈 겁니다 gal geomnida | 갈 거예요 gal geoyeyo | 갈 거야 gal geoya | 갈 것이다 gal geosida |
| Negative — 안 (don't) | 안 갑니다 an gamnida | 안 가요 an gayo | 안 가 an ga | 안 간다 an ganda |
| Negative — 못 (can't) | 못 갑니다 mot gamnida | 못 가요 mot gayo | 못 가 mot ga | 못 간다 mot ganda |
| Negative — long 지 않다 | 가지 않습니다 gaji anseumnida | 가지 않아요 gaji anayo | 가지 않아 gaji ana | 가지 않는다 gaji anneunda |
| Imperative | 가십시오 gasipsio | 가세요 gaseyo | 가 ga | 가라 gara |
| Propositive (let's) | 갑시다 gapsida | 가요 gayo | 가자 gaja | 가자 gaja |
저 이제 집에 가요.
jeo ije jibe gayo
I'm heading home now.
어제 친구랑 병원에 갔어요.
eoje chingurang byeongwone gasseoyo
I went to the hospital with a friend yesterday.
다음 주에 제주도에 갈 거예요.
da-eum jue Jejudo-e gal geoyeyo
I'm going to Jeju Island next week.
저는 먼저 가겠습니다.
jeoneun meonjeo gagetseumnida
I'll be heading off first. (formal, e.g. leaving the office)
비 오니까 조심해서 가세요.
bi onikka josimhaeseo gaseyo
It's raining, so go carefully. (polite imperative)
우리 이번엔 걸어서 가자.
uri ibeonen georeoseo gaja
Let's walk there this time. (반말 propositive)
오늘은 학교에 안 가요.
oneureun hakgyo-e an gayo
I'm not going to school today.
Level-invariant forms: connectives, attributives, nominal
| Category | Form | Reading | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connective — and | 가고 | gago | "goes and…" |
| Connective — so/then | 가서 | gaseo | "goes and then…" (가 + 아서 → 가서) |
| Connective — if/when | 가면 | gamyeon | "if/when one goes" |
| Connective — because | 가니까 | ganikka | "because one goes" |
| Attributive — present | 가는 | ganeun | "(the road) one takes/goes on" |
| Attributive — past | 간 | gan | "(place) one went" (가 + ㄴ → 간) |
| Attributive — prospective | 갈 | gal | "(place) one will go" |
| Attributive — retrospective | 가던 | gadeon | "(place) one used to go" |
| Nominal — gerund | 가기 | gagi | "going" (the activity) |
| Nominal — fact/nominal | 감 | gam | "the going (of)" (written) |
학교에 가는 길에 친구를 만났어요.
hakgyo-e ganeun gire chingureul mannasseoyo
I ran into a friend on the way to school. (present attributive 가는)
도서관에 가서 시험 공부를 했어요.
doseogwane gaseo siheom gongbureul haesseoyo
I went to the library and studied for the exam. (가서, sequence)
지금 출발하면 안 늦어요.
jigeum chulbalhamyeon an neujeoyo
If we leave now, we won't be late. (parallel -면 pattern)
The vowel-stem signature: no 으, but you must contract
Two things separate 가다 from 먹다, and both come from the missing batchim.
First, no 으 — ever. Because 가- ends in a vowel, the -(으) family attaches directly: 가 + 세요 → 가세요, 가 + ㄴ → 간, 가 + ㄹ → 갈, 가 + 면 → 가면. There is no consonant collision to buffer, so the 으 simply never appears. Likewise the formal present is 갑니다 (가 + ㅂ니다), never ×가습니다.
Second, the -아/어 vowel contracts. Harmony selects 아 for 가- (stem vowel ㅏ), but 가 + 아요 does not stay 가아요 — two identical ㅏ vowels merge into one, giving 가요. The same collapse produces the past 갔어요 (가 + 았 → 갔) and the connective 가서 (가 + 아서 → 가서). Not every vowel stem collapses the same way, but every one merges somehow:
| Cell | 가다 (go) | 자다 (sleep) | 서다 (stand) | 오다 (come) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 해요체 present | 가요 gayo | 자요 jayo | 서요 seoyo | 와요 wayo |
| 합니다체 present | 갑니다 gamnida | 잡니다 jamnida | 섭니다 seomnida | 옵니다 omnida |
| Imperative (세요) | 가세요 gaseyo | 자세요 jaseyo | 서세요 seoseyo | 오세요 oseyo |
| Prospective attributive | 갈 gal | 잘 jal | 설 seol | 올 ol |
가- and 자- swallow the 아 (가요, 자요); 서- (stem vowel ㅓ) swallows the 어 (서요); 오- (stem vowel ㅗ) fuses ㅗ + ㅏ into 와 (와요). The variety is real, but the two structural facts never budge: no 으, and -ㅂ니다 not -습니다. The full inventory of merges is on the contraction table.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting a 으 after a vowel stem. 가- has no batchim, so no buffer.
❌ 안녕히 가으세요.
Wrong — 가- ends in a vowel; the honorific is just 가세요, no 으.
✅ 안녕히 가세요.
annyeonghi gaseyo
Goodbye (to someone leaving).
2. Failing to contract -아요. 가 + 아요 collapses to 가요.
❌ 저 지금 집에 가아요.
Wrong — the two ㅏ vowels merge: 가요.
✅ 저 지금 집에 가요.
jeo jigeum jibe gayo
I'm going home now.
3. Using -습니다 on a vowel stem. Vowel stems take -ㅂ니다.
❌ 저는 매일 학교에 가습니다.
Wrong — a vowel stem takes -ㅂ니다: 갑니다.
✅ 저는 매일 학교에 갑니다.
jeoneun maeil hakgyo-e gamnida
I go to school every day. (formal)
4. Forming the past as ×가았어요. The stem vowel absorbs the 았: 가 + 았 → 갔.
❌ 어제 시장에 가았어요.
Wrong — the past contracts to 갔: 갔어요.
✅ 어제 시장에 갔어요.
eoje sijange gasseoyo
I went to the market yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- 가다 is the stencil for regular vowel-stem verbs: stem 가-, no batchim, harmony 아 — but the 아 contracts into the stem (가요, 갔어요, 가서).
- Its signature is the absence of the 으 buffer (가세요, 간, 갈, 가면) and -ㅂ니다 for the formal present (갑니다).
- Present by level: 갑니다 / 가요 / 가 / 간다; the plain present is 간다 (가 + ㄴ다).
- Different vowel stems contract differently (가요, 서요, 와요), but all share the two structural rules: no 으, -ㅂ니다.
- Compare the consonant-stem 먹다 paradigm: 먹- adds a 으 and takes -습니다; 가- does neither.
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- 먹다 (to eat): Consonant-Stem Verb ParadigmTOPIK 1 — The complete look-up paradigm of 먹다 across all four speech levels — the stencil for every regular consonant-stem action verb, with the obligatory 으 buffer that batchim stems insert before consonant-initial endings.
- 살다 (to live): ㄹ-Stem Verb ParadigmTOPIK 2 — The complete look-up paradigm of 살다 across all four speech levels — the model for ㄹ-stem verbs, whose stem ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and 시, stays everywhere else, and never takes the 으 buffer.
- The Vowel-Contraction TableTOPIK 1 — The obligatory stem-vowel + 아/어 fusions that produce every 해요체 and past form — 가+아→가, 오+아→와, 주+어→줘, 마시+어→마셔 — plus the 되/돼 spelling test. The uncontracted forms are simply wrong.
- The -(으) Insertion Table: When 으 AppearsTOPIK 1 — The linking vowel -(으)- surfaces only between a consonant-final stem and a set of endings, is absent after a vowel stem, and disappears in ㄹ-stems (which drop the ㄹ instead) — laid out ending by ending across all three stem types.
- How Korean Conjugation Works: Stem + EndingTOPIK 1 — The single mechanism behind every table in this reference: strip -다 to get the stem, then attach an ending — with three factors (batchim, ㅏ/ㅗ harmony, irregular class) deciding the ending's exact shape.