TOPIK I · LEVEL 2
-겠-
-겠- shows the speaker's intention ('I will') or a guess based on what they see or hear ('it must be').
시제·상Tense & aspectHan: For a guess about the past, put the past tense before 겠: 았/었겠다.
Examples
와, 이 케이크 정말 맛있겠어요!Wow, this cake must be really tasty!
하루 종일 일해서 피곤하겠어요.You worked all day, you must be tired.
제가 내일까지 보고서를 보내겠습니다.I will send the report by tomorrow.
Don’t mix up
-겠-vs-(으)ㄹ 거예요-(으)ㄹ 거예요 is a plain plan or prediction; -겠- adds a firm on-the-spot decision or a guess from present evidence: 비가 오겠어요 (looking at dark clouds).How to build it
V/A+겠
하다 → 하겠습니다, 맛있다 → 맛있겠어요
- Intention is used with 'I/we' as the subject; with others it becomes a guess.
- Fixed polite phrases use it: 알겠습니다, 잘 먹겠습니다, 처음 뵙겠습니다.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 어제 바쁘겠어요.
Right: 어제 바빴겠어요.
For a guess about the past, put the past tense before 겠: 았/었겠다.
Practise -겠- on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 것이다 (것이에요)-(으)ㄹ 거예요 talks about the future: with 'I/we' it states a plan you already have, and about others or things it gives your guess ("probably will").
- -고 있다-고 있다 shows that an action is in progress at a certain moment, or is ongoing over a period of time ("be doing").
- -기 시작하다-기 시작하다 means 'to begin to do / start doing'.
- -아/어 있다-아/어 있다 describes a state that continues after an action has finished, like a door that stays open after it was opened.
- -(으)면-(으)면 attaches to a verb or adjective to set a condition: "if X happens or is true, then Y," and it can also mean "whenever X" for things that regularly happen.
- -(으)ㄴ 지Shows how much time has passed since an action happened.
- -(으)ㄹ 것Ends a written instruction or rule with a noun-like command: 'do X; X is to be done'. Impersonal and firm; used in notices, exam instructions, memos and rule lists.
- -(으)ㄹ 때Attaches to a verb or adjective to say at what time or in what situation something happens: 'when …'.
- -(으)면 안 되다States that an action is not allowed or not acceptable: 'you must not… / it's not okay to…'.