When You See a New Word for the First Time

When you encounter a new verb or adjective you do not need to memorize every conjugated form. Instead follow this 6-step process:

Find the stem: Remove -다 from the dictionary form.

Identify the ending: What meaning do you want to add?

Check the selection rule: Does the ending care about vowels or batchim?

Check the stem: Look at the final vowel or batchim of the stem.

Combine: Attach the correct ending.

Check for changes: Apply any common vowel contractions or drops.

Endings based on -아/-어 , such as -아요/-어요 and -았어요/-었어요 , require a vowel check.

For regular stems other than ㅡ-final stems and 하다, choose the -아 form when the stem's last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ and the -어 form otherwise.

For ㅡ-final stems, drop ㅡ and check the preceding vowel before selecting the form. The 하다 pattern is handled separately.

닦다 → 닦- → last vowel ㅏ → 닦아요

빌리다 → 빌리- → last vowel ㅣ → 빌려요 after contraction

Endings written with (으), such as -(으)세요 and -(으)면 , require you to check how the stem ends.

In the regular pattern practiced here, choose the form with 으 after a consonant other than ㄹ and choose the form without 으 after a vowel-final stem. ㄹ-final stems follow ending-specific patterns outside this course.

벗다 → 벗- ends in ㅅ → 벗으세요

보내다 → 보내- ends in a vowel → 보내세요

After selecting and combining the ending, check whether a contraction or deletion applies. This commonly occurs when a vowel-final stem meets an -아/-어 -based ending.

빌리다 : 빌리- + -어요 → 빌리어요 → 빌려요 (ㅣ and ㅓ contract to ㅕ)