Korean grammar patterns › Level 2
-(으)ㄹ
noun modifier for future / not yet done: the N to do, the N I will do
Level 2 · TOPIK I · beginner
How to use it
Describes a noun with an action that will happen or hasn't happened yet: 내일 입을 옷 'clothes to wear tomorrow'. It also appears in many fixed patterns: -(으)ㄹ 때, -(으)ㄹ 수 있다, -(으)ㄹ 것 같다.
Forming it
| 가다 | → 갈 |
| 먹다 | → 먹을 |
| 만들다 | → 만들 |
| 돕다 | → 도울 |
ㄹ-stems don't add another ㄹ: 만들다 → 만들 (✗ 만들을). In -(으)ㄹ 때 it is not future: 어릴 때 = when I was young.
Examples
내일 입을 옷을 벌써 준비했어요.
I've already prepared the clothes I'll wear tomorrow.
이번 주말에 할 일이 너무 많아요.
I have too many things to do this weekend.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)ㄴ marks a completed action and -는 an ongoing one; -(으)ㄹ is for what is planned, possible or not yet real. -(으)ㄹ 때 is the fixed 'when' expression.