📘 Grammar 12: How to Use ~ㄴ/은/는 – Korean Descriptive Clause Grammar

📘 How to Use ~ㄴ/은/는 – Korean Descriptive Clause Grammar

Want to say things like “the book I read”, “the person who is coming”, or “the food I ate” in Korean?

Then you need to understand how to use ~ㄴ / ~은 / ~는 — one of the most powerful and essential grammar patterns in Korean.

This grammar lets you describe nouns using verbs, just like English relative clauses ("that I read", "who is coming").

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🧠 What Is the ~ㄴ/은/는 Clause?

This structure connects a verb to a noun, making a descriptive clause (like “the movie that I watched”).

• ~는 → present tense action (ongoing)
• ~ㄴ / ~은 → past tense action (already done)

You put this form before the noun it describes.

🟡 ~는: Present Descriptive Clause

Use ~는 to describe something currently happening or habitual.

• 공부하는 학생 – the student who studies
• 요리하는 사람 – the person who is cooking
• 지금 가는 사람 – the person who is going now

💡 Simply add ~는 to the present tense verb stem.

🟠 ~ㄴ/은: Past Descriptive Clause

Use ~ㄴ (after vowels) or ~은 (after consonants) to describe past actions.

• 읽은 책 – the book that I read
• 만나ㄴ 친구 – the friend I met
• 먹은 음식 – the food I ate

💡 If the verb ends in a vowel → ㄴ
If the verb ends in a consonant → 은

📊 Summary Table

Tense	Form	Example	Meaning	Romanization
Present	~는	가는 사람	the person who is going	ga-neun sa-ram
Past (vowel)	~ㄴ	본 영화	the movie I saw	bon yeong-hwa
Past (consonant)	~은	먹은 음식	the food I ate	meok-eun eum-sik

📙 Example Sentences

• 제가 읽은 책은 재미있어요 – The book I read is interesting
  je-ga ilg-eun chaek-eun jae-mi-it-seo-yo
• 그 사람이 보는 영화는 공포 영화예요 – The movie he is watching is a horror film
  geu sa-ram-i bo-neun yeong-hwa-neun gong-po yeong-hwa-ye-yo
• 여기에서 일하는 사람이에요 – I am the person working here
  yeo-gi-e-seo il-ha-neun sa-ram-i-e-yo

📌 Use with Pronouns and Questions

• 내가 쓴 편지 – the letter I wrote
• 누가 만든 음식이에요? – Who made this food?

💬 You can make very descriptive and detailed phrases in Korean using this pattern!

🧪 Mini Quiz – Choose the Correct Form

1. Which is correct for “the person who eats”?
   a) 먹는 사람
   b) 먹은 사람
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ a) 먹는 사람

2. Translate: “the movie I watched”
   a) 본 영화
   b) 보는 영화
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ a) 본 영화

3. What is “가는 사람” in English?
   a) The person who went
   b) The person who is going
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ b) The person who is going

✅ Conclusion

Now you can describe nouns with actions like a native speaker!

• Use ~는 for present/ongoing actions
• Use ~ㄴ / ~은 for completed past actions

Practice describing people, things, and places with this grammar. Try examples like:

• “the person who teaches me” → 나를 가르치는 사람
• “the coffee I drank” → 내가 마신 커피

📘 Coming Up Next

Next lesson: How to Use ~네요 – Expressing Surprise or Realization
You’ll learn how to naturally express surprise, emotion, and discovery in Korean!

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