Modifiers

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i) Descriptive | past modifier -ㄴ

도착한 열차
the train that arrived

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ii) Processive | present modifier -는

도착하는 열차
the arriving (approaching) train

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iii) Prospective | future modifier -(으)ㄹ

도착할 열차
the train which will arrive

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iv) Retrospective | past recall modifier -던

마시던 맥주
beer (we were) drinking

Conjugation

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Modifier	Ending	AV	DV
Descriptive modifier   (past)	-(으)ㄴ	도착한 열차	빠른 열차
Processive modifier   (present)	-는	도착하는 열차	NA
Prospective modifier   (future)	-(으)ㄹ	도착할 열차	빠를 열차
Retrospective modifier   (past recall)	-던	마시던 맥주	빠르던 열차

Where:
AV = action verb / processive verb.
DV = descriptive verb / ‘adjective’.

The table above depicts the modifiers for action and descriptive verbs. Note that the modifiers each have subtle nuances beyond tense marking.

Contents

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1.  Descriptive | past modifier -ㄴ

2.  Processive | present modifier -는

3.  Prospective | future modifier -(으)ㄹ

4.  Retrospective | past recall modifier -던

5.  Additional details

6.  Associated grammar

7.  See also

8.  Bibliography

9.  User examples

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Adnominal endings attach to verb stems and modify nouns.

검은 고양이
black cat

Where:
Noun = 고양이 (cat)
Verb = 검다 (black)
Adnominal ending = 은

Here the descriptive verb ‘black’ modifies the noun ‘cat’. That is, the adjective elaborates upon and describes the noun.

Adnominal endings link the modifying element (either an action verb or a descriptive verb) with the noun. The various adnominal endings modify the noun (or noun phrase) in many different ways.

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The descriptive modifier means different things depending on whether it occurs with an action or descriptive verb. With action verbs, -ㄴ denotes past tense.

도착한 열차
the train that arrived

With descriptive verbs, -ㄴ denotes a present state.

빠른 열차
fast train

뜨거운 공기
hot air

More specifically, with action verbs, the prior completion of an action still has relevance to the present situation.

젖은 수건
wet towel

잃은 물건
lost item

먹은 고기
meat eaten

Here 먹은 고기 can mean ‘meat eaten and still inside the stomach’, as opposed to ‘meat eaten last week’. The former still has present consequences.

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The processive modifier denotes present tense and indicates an action is continuous or in progress.

도착하는 열차
the arriving (approaching) train

This modifier is only used with action verbs because adjectives aren’t described as being in an ongoing state. Below are more examples of processive verbs with -는.

잠자는 공주
sleeping princess

비가 오는 날
rainy day

한국어를 배우는 사람
person learning Korean

From this modifier comes certain fixed expressions.

쉬는 시간
break time

나가는 곳
exit (way out)

The processive modifier is used with existential verbs (있다/없다).

재미있는 영화
interesting movie

싸가지 없는 놈
rude bastard

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The prospective modifier denotes future tense and/or expresses an indefinite reality.

도착할 열차
the train which will arrive

The prospective modifier is much more commonly used with action verbs than descriptive verbs as people commonly express future states/events, yet rarely describe future characteristics (Eg: 착할 친구 The friend who will be kind).

With nouns such as 예정 (intent) or 모양 (shape/form/appearance), -(으)ㄹ expresses intention or conjecture.

도착할 예정
expected arrival

With nouns indicating a person (사람 / 분), this modifier can carry a nuance of ‘people who plan on doing’ or ‘people who want to do’.

케이크 좀 먹을 사람?
Who wants some cake?

With certain fixed expressions, it can be translated as ‘to’.

갈 시간
time to go

먹을 거
things to eat

When used with the past tense marker (-었), it becomes the past prospective modifier -었을. This form is used to make a conjecture about an unverified event/state.

이제까지 도착했을 거야
would have arrived by now

지갑을 발견한 사람을 찾는다.
I’m looking for whoever found my wallet.

지갑을 발견했을 사람을 찾는다.
I’m looking for whoever may have found my wallet.

In the second sentence, the speaker presumes somebody may have found the wallet, but does not know it for a fact.

See Additional details for more.

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The retrospective modifier expresses a recollection of a past state. It differs from the other modifiers by expressing the retrospective viewpoint of the subject.

With action verbs, -던 denotes an action/state was previously occurring. Here the action was progressive in nature, habitual or suspended.

마시던 맥주
beer (we were) drinking

살던 집
place (I was) living at

홈런을 치던 친구
friend (who) hit a home run

With descriptive verbs, -던 indicates a situation continued for a period but has now changed.

푸르던 잎
leaves (which were once) green

유명하던 가수
singer (who used to be) famous

착하던 친구
friend (who used to be) kind

When used with the past tense marker (-었), it becomes the past retrospective modifier -었던. This form has subtle differences with -던 and varies according to whether it occurs with action or descriptive verbs.

With action verbs, 었던 expresses either a remote, retrospective past or a past state which no longer applies.

Compare:

살던 집
place (I was) living at

살았던 집
the house I used to live at

Here the -었던 example is nuanced as being from a more remote past.

Compare:

홈런을 치던 친구
friend who hit a home run

홈런을 쳤던 친구
friend who once hit a home run

Here the -었던 example is nuanced as a one-time-only event. Note that, as with the previous example, the nuance depends on the nature of the verb used.

With descriptive verbs, -었던 expresses a retrospective past more remote than -던.

Compare:

유명하던 가수
singer who used to be famous

유명했던 가수
singer who was famous in the past

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Descriptive modifier -ㄴ

• This modifier is similar in function with particle 의. An explanation of this is found under that entry.

Descriptive modifier -ㄴ

• 경상 dialect still uses the archaic 했는 for past tense (instead of 한). This form can still be found in Standard Korean with certain grammatical forms, namely 했는데 and 했는지. Use of 했는 with other patterns is considered erroneous or improper use of language.

• The fact that -는 cannot be used with descriptive verbs is one of the few differences between action and descriptive verbs in Korean.

• The standing of -는 as a present tense maker has been questioned by linguists because it cannot occur with descriptive verbs. Some argue it is better defined as a marker of action or process.

• This modifier is essentially -느 combined with the descriptive modifier -ㄴ. The role of morpheme -느 remains debated.

Prospective modifier -(으)ㄹ

• The prospective modifier -(으)ㄹ doesn’t always denote a future action/state. There are a few instances where ㄹ functions simply as a connector.

잠을 잘 때 전화가 왔다.
The phone rang while I was sleeping.

In this example, ‘sleeping’ is interpreted as being simultaneous with the phone ringing. This occurs because the noun 때 ordinarily denotes ‘time’.

Extending from this, when the past prospective modifier -었을 is used with 때, the action is interpreted as being completed before the action in the main clause.

Compare:

시장에 갈 때 박 선생님을 만났다.
On the way to the market, I ran into Mr. Park.

시장에 갔을 때 박 선생님을 만났다.
When I went to the market, I ran into Mr. Park.

Retrospective modifier -던

• This modifier is essentially -더 (verb ending for speaker’s perception {비가 오더라 — I saw that it was raining} ) combined with the descriptive modifier -ㄴ.

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Affiliate links help support uK.

— Choo, M., & Kwak, H. (2008). Using Korean: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. New York: Cambridge University Press.
— Kim, D. The Korean relativizer -l from the viewpoint of linguistic evolution. (2014). Language Research, 39(1), 1–20.
— Ihm, H.B., Hong, K.P., & Chang, S.I. (2001). Korean Grammar for International Learners. Seoul: Yonsei University Press.
— Yeon, J., & Brown, L. (2008). Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar. New York: Routledge.

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