Change the ending to use a verb in conversation

A dictionary gives you 먹다, “to eat,” but the conversation you want may need 먹어요. The useful skill is recognising what stays and what changes. In this lesson you will find the stem, choose a familiar polite ending, and use the result in a short sentence.

We focus on eight common action verbs and the everyday polite style often called 해요체. You may also see these forms taught under “polite present tense.” They can describe habits or what is happening now, but context can give them other time meanings too. The ending alone is not a complete timeline.

You should be able to read simple Hangul blocks before starting. The first-sentence guide explains why the verb normally comes at the end. If you want to say what a thing is, the separate 이에요/예요 lesson covers noun sentences.

Find the stem before adding an ending

For the verbs here, remove the final 다 from the dictionary form. 먹다 gives 먹, 가다 gives 가, and 공부하다 gives 공부하. This stem is the starting point for adding an ending.

Do not remove every occurrence of 다 inside a longer word, and do not assume that adding 요 to the dictionary form creates the intended polite form. For this lesson, 먹다 becomes 먹어요, not 먹다요.

Choose 아요, 어요, or the 하다 pattern

For the first pattern, look at the last vowel in the stem, not the vowel in the dictionary ending 다. For 먹, that vowel is ㅓ, so the regular pattern takes 어요. For 가, it is ㅏ, so the pattern takes 아요 and contracts to 가요.

하다 has the familiar 해요 form, a contraction of 하여요. A verb such as 공부하다 follows that pattern at the end: 공부해요. 일하다 becomes 일해요. Do not write 공부하아요 by treating the 하 syllable as an ordinary ㅏ example.

These are a starting framework, not a claim that every Korean verb follows a regular rule. Some stems change in additional ways. We keep those exceptions outside the main practice so you can first learn the normal steps clearly.

Learn eight verbs as useful pairs

Several vowels combine when the ending meets the stem. 오 + 아요 gives 와요; 보 + 아요 gives the common shortened form 봐요. In 마셔요, the ㅣ of 마시 combines with 어 to give 여. In 배워요, the ㅜ of 배우 combines with 어 to give 워.

Some uncontracted forms also occur. For example, 보아요 is a longer form corresponding to 봐요. The chart teaches a common spoken choice; it is not saying every longer spelling is an error. Practise the complete form first, then use the explanation to recognise the change.

The Hangul spellings show these changes directly. An English-letter spelling can help you begin, but it should not replace looking at 와, 봐, 셔 and 워 while listening.

Use the verb at the end of a small sentence

In these examples, 를 or 을 marks the object: 한국어를, 차를, 밥을. 에 in 아침에 marks a time, while 에서 in 집에서 marks where the action happens. Treat these as the specific combinations in the examples; particles deserve their own focused practice.

Unlike English “I eat” and “she eats,” the basic form 먹어요 does not change just because the subject becomes a different person or number. Korean can also omit a subject when the conversation makes it clear. The English “I” in our short examples supplies one possible context.

Respect for the person you are talking about can require additional choices beyond 요. This lesson introduces a speech style, not the full system of honorific language and relationships.

Hear a question and a statement with the same ending

한국어를 공부해요? asks “Do you study Korean?” In a written beginner dialogue the question mark makes the job clear. In speech, intonation and context help the listener hear the question.

A short reply is 네, 한국어를 공부해요. — “Yes, I study Korean.” You do not need an English-style auxiliary such as “do” before the Korean verb. The ending remains 공부해요 in this pair.

Now compare a habit with a plan: 매일 가요 can mean “I go every day,” while 내일 가요 can mean “I’m going tomorrow.” The same 가요 form is compatible with different time expressions. Later you can learn dedicated past forms and expressions of intention without assuming that all future meaning requires one particular ending.

Keep irregular forms and noun sentences separate

If you apply the regular pattern mechanically to 듣다, “listen,” you may predict 듣어요. The usual polite form for this verb is 들어요. That ㄷ-to-ㄹ change is an irregular pattern. Record it as a pair for now, rather than changing every final ㄷ you meet.

A noun needs a different construction. “It is coffee” is 커피예요; it is not formed by attaching a verb ending to 커피. Conversely, 마시다 is already a verb, so use 마셔요 rather than trying to turn it into a noun sentence with 예요.

When a form feels uncertain, check the dictionary’s listed conjugated forms and listen to the example. A confident rule applied to the wrong word is less useful than one checked, reusable sentence.

Build the forms, then explain the choice

Choose three verbs from the chart and write one sentence for each. Underline the stem on one line and the final spoken form on the next. Then cover the chart and rebuild those same three forms tomorrow. Check the ending before adding more verbs to your list.

A small listening check

Reference and further practice

• University of British Columbia: the polite style — Further explanation of polite forms and verb bases.
• How to Study Korean: lesson 6 — Compare the vowel combinations and everyday polite forms. Its terminology for speech levels differs from ours.
• National Institute of Korean Language learner dictionary — Check an unfamiliar verb’s listed forms instead of guessing from the regular pattern.

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.