Future Tense — -(으)ㄹ 거예요 & -겠어요
Talk about plans and guesses: 먹을 거예요 “I’m going to eat”, 갈 거예요 “I’ll go”, 하겠습니다 “I will do it”.
8.1Two futures, two different jobs
Korean has two common future endings and they are not interchangeable. -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is the everyday one: a plan, an intention, something you have already decided. -겠어요 is for a promise you are making at this moment, or a guess about something in front of you.
If “I’m going to…” fits the English, use -(으)ㄹ 거예요. If it is “I will…” as a promise, or “that must be…” as a guess, use -겠어요.
8.2-(으)ㄹ 거예요: the batchim decides
Take the stem. If it ends in a consonant — a batchim — add 을 거예요. If it ends in a vowel, the ㄹ attaches straight onto the stem as a new batchim and you get ㄹ 거예요.
Stem + future
| Dictionary | Stem | Stem ends in | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹다 (to eat) | 먹 | consonant | 먹을 거예요 |
| 읽다 (to read) | 읽 | consonant | 읽을 거예요 |
| 앉다 (to sit) | 앉 | consonant | 앉을 거예요 |
| 가다 (to go) | 가 | vowel | 갈 거예요 |
| 오다 (to come) | 오 | vowel | 올 거예요 |
| 마시다 (to drink) | 마시 | vowel | 마실 거예요 |
| 공부하다 (to study) | 공부하 | vowel | 공부할 거예요 |
8.3Two things almost everyone gets wrong
Literally, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 means “it is a thing that will be done”. 거 really is a noun — that is why the ending is 예요, the same 이에요/예요 you learned in Chapter 5, and not a verb ending.
Spelling: it is 거예요, never 거에요. 거 ends in a vowel, so it takes 예요.
Sound and spacing: 거 is pronounced tense here, so 갈 거예요 comes out as [갈 꺼예요]. And keep the space — 갈 거예요, not 갈거예요.
8.4-겠어요 for promises and guesses
-겠- slots in exactly where 았/었 did, right before the ending: 하 + 겠 + 어요 = 하겠어요. It has no batchim rule at all — it attaches to every stem the same way.
Three jobs for -겠-
| Sentence | Job | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 제가 하겠습니다. | a promise | I’ll do it. |
| 내일 비가 오겠어요. | a guess | It’ll probably rain tomorrow. |
| 맛있겠어요! | a guess from what you see | That looks delicious! |
| 잘 먹겠습니다. | set phrase | Said just before eating. |
| 처음 뵙겠습니다. | set phrase | Pleased to meet you. |
8.5Which one do I use?
Side by side
| -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | -겠어요 | |
|---|---|---|
| Feel | a plan you already have | a promise or a guess, right now |
| Example | 주말에 쉴 거예요 | 제가 도와드리겠습니다 |
| English | I’m going to rest at the weekend | I’ll help you |
| Attaches as | 을 or ㄹ, depending on the batchim | 겠, always the same |
| Formality | everyday polite | often formal (-겠습니다) |
In real conversation -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is by far the more common of the two. Learn it first, and use -겠어요 for promises and the set phrases.
8.6Time words for the future
Future time words
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 내일 | naeil | tomorrow |
| 모레 | more | the day after tomorrow |
| 다음 주 | daeum ju | next week |
| 다음 달 | daeum dal | next month |
| 나중에 | najunge | later |
내일 친구를 만날 거예요.
I’m going to meet a friend tomorrow.
भोलि साथीलाई भेट्नेछु।
다음 주에 한국에 갈 거예요.
I’m going to Korea next week.
अर्को हप्ता कोरिया जानेछु।
주말에 집에서 쉴 거예요.
I’m going to rest at home this weekend.
सप्ताहन्तमा घरमा आराम गर्नेछु।
나중에 전화하겠습니다.
I’ll call you later.
पछि फोन गर्नेछु।