Beginner 2 > Lesson 13
Lesson 13. Changing Verb into Noun (Verb’s Nominalization)
To convert a verb into a noun in a Korean sentence, following patterns can be applied:
- Base Verb Stem + 기.
Ex. 저는 노래 부르기를 잘하는데 춤 추기를 못해요 = I am good at singing but not at dancing.
- Base Verb Stem + 는 거.
Ex. 저는 노래 부르는 걸 잘하는데 춤 추는 걸 못해요 = I am good at singing but not at dancing.
*Abbreviated form
거 + 가 = 게
것 + 이 = 게
거 + 를 = 걸
것 + 을 = 걸
기 + 를 = 길
- Sub + Obj + Verb + 기 makes the whole portion before ‘기’ a noun.
Ex. 외국인이 한국어를 혼자 공부하기가 어려워요 = It is difficult for foreigners to study Korean alone.
Ex. 친구들이 없이 운동하기가 지루해요 = Working out without friends is boring.
- Sentence/Verb + –는 거 = ‘the thing that Sub+Verb’.
Ex. 사람들은 좋아하는 게 달라요 = People like different things. (좋아하는 게 = The thing that people like)
Ex. 우리는 먹는 걸 좋아해요 = We like eating.
*Placing -는 after a noun makes it a Noun Modifier!
Ex. 아는 사람 = A person I know/A person who knows.
Ex. 저는 가르치는 일하고 있어요 = I do a teaching job.
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-기 and -는 거 can be interchangeably used when talking about something in general. However, they are not always interchangeable!
When –기 and –는 거 cannot be interchangeably used:
- When followed by an Emotion Verb:
When -기 is followed by an emotion verb in a sentence, it sounds like an unfinished action about to be done in the near future. On the other hand, -는 거 followed by an emotion verb simply sounds like doing the said action in general and thus sounds more natural in such cases.
Ex. 저는 사람들이 저한테 소리치는 걸 싫어해요 = I don’t like people yelling at me. (In general)
저는 사람들한테 소리치기를 싫어해요. I don’t like yelling at people. (I will not do that.)
- When using Fixed Expressions:
When using Fixed Expressions in Korean, using -기 only is acceptable.
Ex. 이 카페는 쉬기 좋아요 = This café is good to take a rest at.
Ex. 네 꿈이 이루어지기를 바라 = I hope your dreams come true.
- When using ‘what…’ as a noun holder:
Using –는 거 over -기 is acceptable.
Ex. 나는 네가 원하는 걸 몰라 = I don’t know what you want.
Ex. 지수 언니가 저한테 *줬던 게 이 책이였요 = What Jisoo gave me is this book. *(Past form)
- When using ‘that’ as a subordinate conjunction:
Using –는 거 over -기 is acceptable.
Ex. 우리가 서로 돕는 게 중요해요 = It is important that we help each other.
Ex. 나는 지수가 제프를 좋아하는 거 몰랐어 = I didn’t know that Jisoo likes Jeff.
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Some other uses of 는 거-
A. For emphasis/softness.
Ex. 이거 어떻게 하는 거야? = How can I do this?
Ex. 지금 어디 가는 거예요? = Where are we going now?
B. When used with (your own) storytelling tone.
Ex. 어제 모르는 사람이 계속 따라오는 거야. 너무 무서웠어… = Yesterday a stranger kept following me. It was very scary…
Ex. 오늘 늦게 일아난 거야. 그래서 9시 기차를 놓쳤어 = I woke up late today and so missed the 9 o’clock train.