Future tense (Korean)

Korean verbs can be conjugated into the future tense (미래시제) to describe an action that will happen in the future. In casual speech, where the context is clear, the present tense will often suffice.[cite:@talktomeinkoreanTalkMeKorean2015]

Overview

집에 갈 거예요.

I am going to go home.

• -(으)ㄹ 거예요 implies that your current plan is to go home.

집에 가고 싶어요.

I want to go home.

• -고 싶다 declares the desire to go home very vaguely with no additional nuance.

집에 갈래요.

I want to go home. / I am going to go home.

• -(으)ㄹ래 expresses the intention to go home.

집에 갈게요

[If that's alright,] I will go home.[cite:@talktomeinkorean2021talk]

• -갈게 implies that the speaker is looking for feedback or that their decision to go home is in reaction to the situation around them.

Realis with -(으)ㄹ 거예요

When speaking of factual (or at least planned) events,I.e., when speaking in the realis mood. verbs are brought into the future tense with -(으)ㄹ 거예요 according the the following rules:

• if the verb stem ends with a consonant, append 을;

• if the verb stem ends with a vowel, append ㄹ;

• if the verb stem already ends with ㄹ, do nothing }:).

Irrealis with -(으)ㄹ게요

The basic conjugation -(으)ㄹ 거예요 implies that you are going to do something; that your plans have been set and are unlikely to change. Korean provides an alternative conjugation, -(으)ㄹ게요, for declaring plans that might change based on the listener's response, gauging reactions to a plan, or for plans made being made via the current discussion.[cite:@talktomeinkorean2015talka]

지금 갈게요.

I will go now. [If you don't mind. / If there's no reason for me to stay. / What do you think about that?]

Speculative with -겠어요

The suffix -겠어요 is attached to the stem to express intentions, guesses/assumptions, and to politely propose actions.

References

• [cite:@talktomeinkorean2015talka]

• [cite:@talktomeinkoreanTalkMeKorean2015]