TOPIK I · LEVEL 1
ㅡ(으) 탈락
When a stem ends in the vowel ㅡ, that ㅡ drops before -아/어: 쓰다 'write' → 써요, 바쁘다 'busy' → 바빠요.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: The syllable before ㅡ is 바 with ㅏ, so the ending is 아: 바빠요.
Examples
이 가방 정말 예뻐요!This bag is really pretty!
어제 머리가 아파서 일찍 잤어요.I had a headache yesterday, so I went to bed early.
딜노자 씨, 오늘 바빠요?Dilnoza, are you busy today?
여기에 이름을 써 주세요.Please write your name here.
Don’t mix up
ㅡ(으) 탈락vs르 불규칙Stems in 르 do more than drop ㅡ: they also add an ㄹ. 바쁘다 → 바빠요, but 빠르다 → 빨라요.How to build it
one-syllable stem: ㅡ → 어 (쓰 → 써요) · longer stem: syllable before ㅡ has ㅏ/ㅗ → 아 (바쁘 → 바빠요), otherwise → 어 (예쁘 → 예뻐요)
쓰다 → 써요, 썼어요; 크다 → 커요; 아프다 → 아파요, 아팠어요; 기쁘다 → 기뻐요
- One-syllable stems always take 어: 쓰다 → 써요, 크다 → 커요, 끄다 → 꺼요, 뜨다 → 떠요.
- Longer stems look at the syllable before ㅡ: ㅏ or ㅗ → 아 (바쁘다 → 바빠요, 아프다 → 아파요, 나쁘다 → 나빠요, 고프다 → 고파요); any other vowel → 어 (예쁘다 → 예뻐요, 기쁘다 → 기뻐요, 슬프다 → 슬퍼요).
- The drop happens only before -아/어 (-아요, -았어요, -아서). Before other endings the stem is normal: 바쁘고, 바쁘면, 아픈, 쓰세요.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 요즘 너무 바뻐요.
Right: 요즘 너무 바빠요.
The syllable before ㅡ is 바 with ㅏ, so the ending is 아: 바빠요.
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)시--(으)시- goes inside a verb or adjective to show respect to the person doing the action (the subject).
- -(으)세요-(으)세요 is the polite honorific ending: it shows respect to the subject in statements and questions (선생님은 책을 읽으세요), and with action verbs it politely tells or asks the listener to do something (앉으세요).
- -(으)ㅂ시다-(으)ㅂ시다 suggests doing something together: 'let's …' in a formal, polite style.
- -(으)ㄹ까요?Use -(으)ㄹ까요? to suggest something ("Shall we…?"), offer help ("Shall I…?"), or ask someone's guess ("Do you think…?").
- -이/가 아니다Negates a noun: 'is not N'. It is the negative of 이다 and conjugates like an adjective: 아니에요, 아닙니다, 아니야.
- -이다이다 is the copula 'to be': attached to a noun, it says what something is (X is Y). It conjugates like an adjective into every speech style.
- -아요/어요-아요/어요 is the everyday polite ending: add it to a verb or adjective stem to speak politely to almost anyone, about the present or habits.
- -이에요/예요-이에요/예요 means 'to be' and links a noun to the subject in polite everyday speech, as in 'X is Y.'
- -ㅂ니까/습니까Asks a question in the formal polite style (하십시오체): interviews, announcements, customer service, presentations, the military.