Korean Verb Stems

Now we have to look at one of the most difficult topics in the Korean language. Without learning it, you will not be able to communicate in Korean even at an elementary level. We are talking about verb stems.

First of all, it should be stated that there are no adjectives in Korean. There are two types of verbs, action and state. Action verbs represent what we mean by the term ‘verb’ in English. State verbs are used instead of adjectives, but grammatically they behave in the same way as action verbs, that is, they change in polite styles, tenses, etc.

The only essential difference between them and action verbs is that descriptive verbs do not form participles. Instead, they use the so-called attributive form, which is the same as the past participle of action verbs.

For example:

날씨가 좋습니다. /naɭɕɕiga t͡ɕossɯmnida/ The weather is good.

좋은 날씨. /t͡ɕoɯn naɭɕɕi/ Good weather.

그 사람은 나쁩니다. /kɯ sʰaramɯn nappɯmnida/ The person is bad.

나쁜 사람. /nappɯn sʰaram/ Bad person.

Now let’s move on to the verb stems themselves. There are three of them in Korean. Different stems are used to form different grammatical constructions.

The first stem is formed by dropping the ending -다 (ta/da). For example, for the verb 먹다 /mʌ̹kta/, the first stem will be 먹 /mʌ̹k/, and for the verb 가다 /kada/ the first stem will be 가 /ka/.

The third stem is also formed very simply – by replacing the ending -다 (ta/da) with -지 (t͡ɕi/d͡ʑi). For example, 먹다 /mʌ̹kta/ – 먹지 /mʌ̹kt͡ɕi/, 가다 /kada/ – 가지 /kad͡ʑi/.

The main difficulty is the formation of the second stem. It depends on which vowel is in the root of the word. If it is 아 /a/ or 오 /o/, 아 /a/ must be added to the root, e.g.: 받다 /patta/ ‘to get, receive’ – 받아 /pada/, 좁다 ‘to be narrow’ – 좁아 /t͡ɕoba/. In other cases, the vowel 어 /ʌ̹/ is added to the root: 믿다 /mitta/ ‘to believe’ – 믿어 /mido/, 읽다 /ikta/ ‘to read’ – 읽어 /iɭgo/, 울다 (uɭda) ‘to cry’ – 울어 /uro/. Finally, the verb 하다 /hada/ ‘to do’ changes in a peculiar way in the second stem. In written language it takes the form 하여 /hajʌ̹/, while in spoken language the form 해 /hɛ/ is usually used. Verbs ending in 내다 form the 2nd stem in the same way as the first, that is, by simply dropping the ending –다(ta/da): 보내다 /ponɛda/ ‘to send’ – 보내 /ponɛ/

All of this is not that difficult to remember. However, there are a number of exceptions to the above rules. Firstly, if the root of a verb ends in a vowel, it is usually (but not always!) merged with the following vowel, i.e. 아 /a/ or 어 /o/.

1. If the root ends in 아 /a/, it merges with the following 아 /a/. That is 아 + 아 = 아, e.g.: 가다 /kada/ ‘to go’ – 가 /ka/, 자다 /t͡ɕada/ ‘to sleep’ – 자 /t͡ɕa/.
2. If the root ends in 오 /o/, this sound is merged with the following 아 /a/ into the diphthong 와 /wa/ in colloquial speech: 오다 /oda/ ‘to come’ – 와 /wa/, 보다 /poda/ ‘to see, to look at, to watch’ – 봐 /pwa/. But in the written language there is no such merger. The exception is the verb 오다 /oda/, which has the same form 와 /wa/ in the second stem in both written and spoken language.
3. 우 /u/ + 어 /o/ gives 워 /wʌ̹/ when merging: 주다 /t͡ɕuda/ ‘to give’ – 줘 /t͡ɕwʌ̹/. This is also more typical of spoken language, in written language it is better to use the full form 주어 /t͡ɕuʌ̹/.
4. 이 /i/ + 어 /ʌ̹/ merges into 여 /jʌ̹/: 기다리다 /kidarida/ ‘to wait’ – 기다려 /kidarjʌ̹/, 마시다 /maɕʰida/ ‘to drink’ – 마셔 /maɕʰjʌ̹/. This is typical primarily for polysyllabic words, but sometimes, especially in colloquial speech, this rule applies to two-syllable words as well: 치다 /t͡ɕʰida/ ‘to hit, to beat’ – 쳐 /t͡ɕʰjʌ̹/.
5. 으 /ɯ/ + 어 /ʌ̹/ merges into the sound 어 /ʌ̹/: 크다 /khɯda/ ‘to be big’ – 커 /khʌ̹/, 쓰다 /ssɯda/ ‘to write’ – 써 /ssʌ̹/.

There are also a number of verbs that form the second stem by special rules.