[Learn Korean E23] “-겠어요”(intentions and plans)

안녕하세요.토미입니다.

Let’s have fun learning an exciting language, Korean!

The theme of today’s class is 내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요. “I guess the weather will be nice tomorrow.”

Today, we will learn the grammar –겠어요, and I will summarize all five future tenses we have learned so far.

After today’s class, you can express your future goals, such as “I will do my best to study Korean!”

By the end of today’s class, we will have learned all future tenses that elementary-level learners need to know.

I am sure you can pass TOPIK and become a master of Korean!

그럼 시작할게요!
https://youtu.be/Vq17J4lUeJg

Listen to the Conversation

The theme of today’s conversation is 내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요.

Tammy and Sangmin are making some plans.
What kind of plans do they have?

Let’s listen to the conversation with English subtitles.

그럼 들어보세요！

• 토미：내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요.
  Tammy： I guess the weather will be nice tomorrow.
• 상민：그럼 우리 소풍이나 갈래요?
  Sangmin： Then, shall we go for a picnic?
• 토미：좋아요. 제가 도시락을 싸 올게요.
  Tammy： Good. I’ll make a lunch box.
• 상민：토미 씨 도시락! 맛있겠네요!
  Sangmin： Tammy’s lunch box! That sounds delicious.
• 토미：도시락에는 반찬을 많이 넣을 거예요.
  Tammy： I will put a lot of side dishes in the lunch box.
• 상민：알겠어요. 그럼 저는 음료수를 준비할게요.
  Sangmin： Got it. Then I’ll prepare the drinks.

Vocabulary and Phrases

I will explain the vocabulary and phrases one sentence at a time.

• 토미：내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요.

날씨가 좋겠네요 means “I guess the weather will be nice tomorrow,” and 날씨가 좋다 means “the weather is nice.”

• 상민：그럼 우리 소풍이나 갈래요?

소풍 is “picnic.”
It’s also sometimes called 야유회.

• 토미：좋아요. 제가 도시락을 싸 올게요.

좋아요 means “It’s good.”
When expressing that you are 100% positive, you should use 좋아요.

도시락 is a “lunch box.”
도시락을 싸 오다 means “to make a lunch box.”

• 상민：토미 씨 도시락! 맛있겠네요!

맛있다 is “to be delicious.”
The antonym is 맛없다 “to taste bad.”

If you want to say “Thank you for the meal!” after you finish eating, you can say 맛있게 잘 먹었습니다, which means, “I ate enough, and it was delicious.”

• 토미：도시락에는 반찬을 많이 넣을 거예요.

반찬 is a “side dish.”
In Korea, people often bring 김밥 Kimbap in their lunch boxes. How about in your country?

넣다 means “to put.”
A similar pronunciation is 놓다, which means “to place.”
Their pronunciations are very similar, but both have very different meanings.

• 상민：알겠어요. 그럼 저는 음료수를 준비할게요.

음료수 is “drinks.”
Native Koreans pronounce it [음뇨수].
You can also say 탄산 음료, which means “soft drinks.”

준비하다 means “to prepare/to get ready.”

Grammar

-겠어요

-겠어요 has two meanings:

First, it shows a firm intention or willingness to do something in the future.

Second, you can use it to predict the other person’s feelings or assume a particular situation.
This is similar to guess or assumption.

There is only one pattern of use, which is to add 겠 after the stem of a verb or adjective.

Now, let’s go through the examples and closely examine each meaning.
Future tense to express willingness

First, here is an example that shows one’s willingness or intention.
In the conversation, Sangmin said,

알겠어요.
Got it.

Here, 알다 is “to know,” and you add 겠어요 to the stem.

And it became 알겠어요.
You’ve probably heard phrases like 알겠어요 or 알겠습니다 in Korean dramas.

In Korean, “I understand” means “I will continue to be in a state of understanding,” so it is considered a future tense that shows one’s willingness.
Another example is

그 일은 제가 하겠습니다.
I will do that job.

In this case, 하다 is “to do.” You add 겠습니다 to the stem to say 하겠습니다 “I will do.”

This sounds more firm and reliable.

Guessing

Now, let’s look at how to make sentences related to assumptions.

내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요.
I guess the weather will be nice tomorrow.

Here, 좋다 is “to be good.”
You add 겠네요 to the stem and say, 좋겠네요 “I guess it will be nice.”
Let’s look at the following example.

맛있겠네요!
That sounds delicious!

Here, as well, 맛있다 is “to be delicious.”
You add 겠네요 to the stem to make 맛있겠네요! “That sounds delicious!”

Quiz

What goes in the parentheses?

① 매일 (               ).
You seem to be busy every day.

(1)바빠요 (2)바쁘겠어요

The answer is (2).
바쁘다 is “busy,” so it becomes 바쁘겠어요 or 바쁘겠네요.
This is a “guess” because it predicts a particular situation.

The whole sentence would be 매일 바쁘겠어요.

② 저는 절대로 （               ).
I will never lie.

(1)거짓말 안 할래요 (2)거짓말하지 않겠어요

The answer is (2).

거짓말하다 is “to lie.”
You make a negative sentence that expresses your firm intention, “I will not lie.”
So it becomes 거짓말하지 않겠어요/않겠습니다.
The whole sentence would be 저는 절대로 거짓말하지 않겠어요/않겠습니다.

Summary of future tenses

Now, Let’s summarize five future tenses we have learned so far.
Those fives are
①(으)ㄹ까요  ②(으)ㄹ래요  ③(으)ㄹ게요  ④겠어요  ⑤(으)ㄹ 거예요

These five are colloquial language, which means you use them in a daily conversation.
I summarize the future tense expressions in the table.

The nuances of these expressions are very similar and sometimes overlap a little, so sometimes it’s difficult to draw a clear line between them and say, “You must use this one in this situation!”

But I’ll give you a summary of how native Koreans use each of the five expressions.

① -(으)ㄹ까요? “Should/would ~?”
First, let’s see -(으)ㄹ까요? “Should/would ~?”
When you use this, you always have to put a question mark “?”

You say this when you want to invite someone, obtain their consent, or obtain their opinion.
For example, Tammy said,

도시락 반찬에는 뭐가 좋을까요?
What would be a good side dish for a lunch box?

Here, Tammy is asking Sangmin’s opinion.
So, Tammy used 뭐가 좋을까요? “What would be good?”

② ‘-(으)ㄹ래요 “I will~/would you~”
Second, -(으)ㄹ래요 means “I will~,” and you use this to express your intention or plan. If I say,

저는 카레 만들래요.
I will make curry.

In this sentence, I am expressing to the other person that I intend to make curry.

It can also translate as “I decided to make curry.”
You can use -(으)ㄹ래요? in a question form to ask for the other person’s opinion.
It means “Would you like~” in English.

I will give you two different conversations that demonstrate (으)ㄹ래요? “Would you like~?.”
The first one goes like this.

A：커피 마실래요? ‘Would you like some coffee?”
B：네, 마실래요. “Yes, I will drink.”

Here is another one.

A：같이 밥 먹으러 갈래요? “Would you like to go out for dinner together?”
B：아니요. 괜찮아요. “No, I’m good.”

③-(으)ㄹ게요 “I will~”
The third one is -(으)ㄹ게요 “I will~.”
This nuance is like a promise or determination, such as “I promise (to do something)~.”

Actually, -(으)ㄹ게요 and 겠 we learned today are the same thing.
You can see the standard thing 게, right?

You use -(으)ㄹ게요 in a daily conversation and 겠 in a more formal conversation or speech.
In today’s conversation, Tammy said,

제가 도시락을 만들게요.
I’ll make a lunch box.

Tammy is promising that she will make a lunch box.

And in this course, I always say 그럼 시작할게요! in the beginning, right?
This is like a determination that means “I will start now,” which indicates “Let’s get started” or “Let’s go!” in Korean.

④ 겠어요 “I will~”
Fourth, as I said before, 겠어요 means the speaker’s intention, and it means “I will~.”

The more formal expression is 겠습니다.
This 겠 sounds more suitable with the 니다 form.
For example,

제가 이 작업을 끝내겠습니다.
I will finish this task.

This sounds very reliable because I express a strong will to finish this task.

If you say this phrase in your office, your boss will be pleased to see you motivated.

⑤ -(으)ㄹ 거예요 “I am going to~”
Last but not least, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 means “I am going to~.”
You can use this to show what you are planning to do.
For example,

도시락에는 반찬을 많이 넣을 거예요.
I will put a lot of side dishes in the lunch box.

Here, Tammy casually describes her plan.
It is like stating the facts.
That’s why she said, 넣을 거예요.

Quiz

What goes in the bracket?

① 제가 이번 프로젝트를 (                   ).
I will present this project.

(1)발표하겠습니다 (2)발표할 거예요

The answer is number (1).
You want to show your confidence and tell others that you will do the presentation, so 발표하겠습니다 is the correct answer.
발표할 거예요 is not entirely wrong, but it sounds neutral, and no emotion is attached.
The sentence will sound more like “I am going to do the presentation.”
So, it cannot convey your willingness.

The correct sentence would be 제가 이번 프로젝트를 발표하겠습니다.

② 과장님, 오늘 커피는 제가 (                           )
Chief, I will buy the coffee for you today.

(1)살게요. (2) 살까요?

The answer is (1).
살게요 implies their willingness to treat the chief.
Therefore, 살게요 would be a more natural expression.
If I say, 살까요? it means, “Should I buy?”
So, it sounds like you should treat that person.
That’s why it is not correct.

The correct sentence would be 과장님, 오늘 커피는 제가 (살게요.)

Conversation (Korean only)

Let’s try listening to the conversation again only in Korean.
Pay attention to all the five future tenses!

그럼 확인해 보세요！

• 토미：내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요.
• 상민：그럼 우리 소풍이나 갈래요?
• 토미：좋아요. 제가 도시락을 싸 올게요.
• 상민：토미 씨 도시락! 맛있겠네요!
• 토미：도시락에는 반찬을 많이 넣을 거예요.
• 상민：알겠어요. 그럼 저는 음료수를 준비할게요.

Conversation Practice

Now, let’s practice reading it aloud so you can use it with your Korean friends.

그럼 큰소리로 읽어 보세요！

• 토미：내일은 날씨가 좋겠네요.
  Tammy： I guess the weather will be nice tomorrow.
• 상민：그럼 우리 소풍이나 갈래요?
  Sangmin： Then, shall we go for a picnic?
• 토미：좋아요. 제가 도시락을 싸 올게요.
  Tammy： Good. I’ll make a lunch box.
• 상민：토미 씨 도시락! 맛있겠네요!
  Sangmin： Tammy’s lunch box! That sounds delicious.
• 토미：도시락에는 반찬을 많이 넣을 거예요.
  Tammy： I will put a lot of side dishes in the lunch box.
• 상민：알겠어요. 그럼 저는 음료수를 준비할게요.
  Sangmin： Got it. Then I’ll prepare the drinks.

Homework

We have two assignments.
Try to write two sentences using today’s grammar for the first homework assignment.

For the first sentence, use verb+겠습니다 and write what you are determined to do.
For example, I would write

• 저는 매일 방을 청소하겠습니다.
  I will clean my room every day.

For the second sentence, please use adjective+겠네요 “I guess” and tell me about tomorrow’s weather in your area.
I would say

• 내일은 하루 종일 비가 오겠네요.
  It will probably be raining all day tomorrow.

The second homework is memorizing vocabulary.
Please memorize 40 words from #521 to #560 on page 7 of the Beginners’ Vocabulary List.
The description section below includes a 40-word quiz. If you remember 40 words, please challenge yourself.

That’s all for today.
Please try using all of five future tenses to your Korean friends!

그럼 오늘도 행복 가득, 웃음 가득한 하루 되세요！ 한국어 화이팅, 화이팅, 화이팅！！