Unit 19: Making Verbs into Nouns (-는 것)

To say things like "my hobby is reading" or "I like eating," we need to turn verbs into nouns. In Easy Korean, the most common way is to use -는 것.

Structure

Verb Stem + 는 것 (the act of doing...)

• 보다 (to see/watch) -> 보는 것 (watching)
• 먹다 (to eat) -> 먹는 것 (eating)
• 듣다 (to listen) -> 듣는 것 (listening) Exception: Verbs ending in ㄹ drop the ㄹ! (만들다 -> 만드는 것)

How to use it in a sentence

Once it is a noun, you can use it with particles like 은/는 or 을/를!

• Shortened forms:
• -는 것 + 은 = -는 것은 -> -는 건 (spoken)
• -는 것 + 을 = -는 것을 -> -는 걸 (spoken)
• -는 것 + 이 = -는 것이 -> -는 게 (spoken)

Examples

• 제 취미는 영화를 보는 것이에요. (My hobby is watching movies.)
• 저는 책을 읽는 것을 좋아해요. (I like reading books.) -> 저는 책 읽는 걸 좋아해요.