Every Korean verb finish with ~다 (da) which shows its identity as a verb when you look for the word from dictionaries. We call it “dictionary form of verb”. However we do not use those dictionary forms in the actual conversation which means that we need to change it into certain forms to make it naturally fit into the conversation.

When you connect adjectives to noun, you should use –ㄴ / –은 (depends on whether the adjective stem has the final consonants or not). Here are some examples,

작다small, 가방 bag                     작은 가방 a small bag

예쁘다pretty, 친구 friend         예쁜 친구 a pretty friend

When you connect verbs to noun, –는 is attached to the verb stems no matter what (does not matter whether the verb stem has the final consonants or not). For example,

좋아하다 like, 색 colour              좋아하는 색 the colour that I like

싫어하다 dislike, 음식 food       싫어하는 음식 the food that I dislike

Please remember that if you could be freely use adjectives in the appropriate contexts, your Korean will be dramatically improved in no time! 한국어 공부 파이팅! :=)

 

Ashley (Korean teacher)