Present-Tense Formation Table | Korean Grammar

The Korean "present" is really a non-past: one set of forms covers both I eat and I'm eating, and it also does duty for the near future. This page lays out how to build it across all four speech levels — the formal 합니다체, the everyday polite 해요체, the intimate 반말, and the written-neutral 한다체 — for both verbs and adjectives. The single most important thing on the page is where those two classes split, so watch the last column.

The formation table

Predicate	합니다체 (formal)	해요체 (polite)	반말 (intimate)	한다체 (plain/written)
가다 (go) — verb	갑니다 (gamnida)	가요 (gayo)	가 (ga)	간다 (ganda)
먹다 (eat) — verb	먹습니다 (meokseumnida)	먹어요 (meogeoyo)	먹어 (meogeo)	먹는다 (meongneunda)
하다 (do) — verb	합니다 (hamnida)	해요 (haeyo)	해 (hae)	한다 (handa)
좋다 (be good) — adj.	좋습니다 (joseumnida)	좋아요 (joayo)	좋아 (joa)	좋다 (jota)
이다 (be) — copula	입니다 (imnida)	이에요·예요 (ieyo·yeyo)	이야·야 (iya·ya)	이다 (ida)

The 합니다체 and 해요체 columns treat verbs and adjectives identically — both 가다 and 좋다 just add the ending (갑니다/좋습니다, 가요/좋아요). It is the 한다체 column where the classes part ways, and that split is the sharpest diagnostic in the whole verb system.

The verb/adjective split in 한다체

In the plain/written present, action verbs take a suffix but adjectives and the copula stay bare:

Verb, vowel or ㄹ stem → -ㄴ다: 가다 → 간다, 오다 → 온다, 살다 → 산다 (ㄹ drops).
Verb, other consonant stem → -는다: 먹다 → 먹는다, 읽다 → 읽는다.
Adjective → bare -다, unchanged: 좋다 → 좋다, 크다 → 크다, 예쁘다 → 예쁘다.
Copula → 이다, unchanged.

아이가 지금 밥을 먹는다.

aiga jigeum babeul meongneunda

The child is eating right now. (verb 먹다 → 먹는다, narration/plain style)

오늘은 날씨가 참 좋다.

oneureun nalssiga cham jota

The weather is really nice today. (adjective 좋다 stays bare -다)

So a plain-style sentence can end in 간다 (a suffixed verb) right beside one ending in 좋다 (a bare adjective) — that is not inconsistency, it is the grammar labelling each word's class. If you can attach -ㄴ다/는다, it is an action verb; if only bare -다 works, it is a descriptive verb. This test never fails, which is why 한다체 is treated as the litmus for the action-vs-descriptive divide.

💡

Meet an unfamiliar 다-word and can't tell verb from adjective? Put it in the plain present. Does 그 사람이 그것을 X는다 sound right? If -는다/ㄴ다 fits, it's an action verb (먹는다). If only the bare -다 works (좋다, 크다), it's an adjective. The 한다체 column is a built-in part-of-speech detector.

The present is a non-past

There is no separate simple-present-vs-progressive split the way English has I eat / I am eating. The one form 먹어요 covers both:

저는 보통 일곱 시에 저녁을 먹어요.

jeoneun botong ilgop sie jeonyeogeul meogeoyo

I usually eat dinner at seven. (habitual 'I eat')

지금 저녁 먹어요. 이따 전화할게요.

jigeum jeonyeok meogeoyo. itta jeonhwahalgeyo

I'm eating dinner right now. I'll call you later. (in-progress 'I'm eating')

Only when you specifically want to foreground an action in progress do you reach for the dedicated progressive -고 있다 (먹고 있다) — laid out on the progressive/aspect table. The plain present also routinely stands in for the near future when context or an adverb makes the time clear:

저 내일 부산에 가요.

jeo naeil Busane gayo

I'm going to Busan tomorrow. (present form, future meaning)

The four levels in use

다음 발표는 김민수 씨가 준비합니다.

daeum balpyoneun Gim Minsu ssiga junbihamnida

The next presentation will be prepared by Mr. Kim Minsu. (합니다체, formal)

저는 회사에서 마케팅 일을 해요.

jeoneun hoesaeseo maketing ireul haeyo

I do marketing work at a company. (해요체, everyday polite)

너 지금 어디 가?

neo jigeum eodi ga?

Where are you going right now? (반말, to a close friend)

주가가 사흘째 오른다.

jugaga saheuljjae oreunda

Stock prices rise for a third straight day. (한다체, news style)

Reframing for English speakers

English forces a choice between I read and I am reading at every turn; Korean does not make you decide. Coming from English, the reflex is to hunt for a progressive form — but 읽어요 already means both, and over-reaching for -고 있다 makes your Korean sound heavy. Reserve -고 있다 for when "right now, mid-action" genuinely matters. The other adjustment: in English every predicate conjugates the same way, but in Korean the plain-style present forces you to know whether a word is a verb or an adjective (간다 vs 좋다). That distinction is doing real grammatical work — get in the habit of tagging each new word by class.

Common Mistakes

1. Giving an adjective the verbal -는다. Adjectives predicate with bare -다.

❌ 오늘 날씨가 참 좋는다.

Wrong — 좋다 is an adjective; its plain present is the bare 좋다.

✅ 오늘 날씨가 참 좋다.

oneul nalssiga cham jota

The weather is really nice today.

2. Using -는다 on a vowel-stem verb. Vowel/ㄹ stems take -ㄴ다, not -는다.

❌ 나는 매일 학교에 가는다.

Wrong — 가- is a vowel stem → -ㄴ다: 간다.

✅ 나는 매일 학교에 간다.

naneun maeil hakgyo-e ganda

I go to school every day.

3. Reaching for -고 있다 where the plain present is enough. Habitual actions don't need the progressive.

❌ 저는 매일 아침에 커피를 마시고 있어요.

Odd for a habit — say the plain present 마셔요; -고 있다 implies 'right now, mid-sip.'

✅ 저는 매일 아침에 커피를 마셔요.

jeoneun maeil achime keopireul masyeoyo

I drink coffee every morning.

4. Using bare dictionary 가다 as a finished sentence. The plain present is 간다, not the dictionary form.

❌ 그 사람은 지금 집에 가다.

Wrong — a plain-style sentence needs 간다; 가다 is only the citation form.

✅ 그 사람은 지금 집에 간다.

geu sarameun jigeum jibe ganda

That person is going home now.

Key Takeaways

The Korean present is a non-past: 먹어요 = both "I eat" and "I'm eating," and often the near future.
합니다체 and 해요체 treat verbs and adjectives alike (갑니다/좋습니다, 가요/좋아요).
한다체 splits the classes: verbs take -ㄴ다/는다 (간다, 먹는다, ㄹ drops → 산다); adjectives and the copula stay bare -다 (좋다, 이다).
That split is the cleanest test for action vs descriptive verbs.
Use dedicated -고 있다 only when the action-in-progress reading truly matters (see the aspect/progressive table).

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