Verb(ends with a vowel) + ㄹ게요
Verb(ends with a consonant) + 을게요
-을게요 is a future tense that means ‘I will’. We often get confused by -을 거예요 because -을 거예요 is also future tense. But they are very different.
-을게요 only can be with the first person as a subject while -을 거예요 can be with the first, second and third person. And 을게요 only is used as a statement while -을 거예요 can be used for a statement, question. In addition, 을게요 only can be with verbs while 을 거예요 can be with adjectives when it has a meaning of prediction. For example,
| 을 거예요 | 제가 내년에 한국에 갈 거예요. I am going to Korea next year. (my plan: statement) |
| 민수 씨, 내년에 한국에 갈 거예요? Minsu, are you going to Korean next year? (your plan: question) | |
| 민수 씨가 내년에 한국에 갈 거예요. Minsu is going to Korea next year. (his/her plan : statement) 내일 비가 안 올 거예요. It will not rain tomorrow. (prediction) 지금 한국 서울이 아주 추울 거예요. It will be very cold in Seoul, Korea. (prediction 춥다 : adjective) |
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| 을게요 | Q: 민수 씨, 언제 올 거예요? Minsu, when are you coming? A: 금방 갈게요. I will be there soon. (my plan: commitment) |
When you use -을게요, there must be a listener who you give a commitment because -을게요 expresses ‘commitment‘. So it is not just a future tense, but it is a ‘promise‘. For example,
| A : 민수 씨, 숙제를 언제 보낼 거예요? When are you going to send homework? B : 내일 보낼 거예요. (I am going to send it tomorrow.) |
A will be just a friend who is curious about if B send homework. B tells A that B is going to send it tomorrow, but it does not matter to A. |
| A: 민수 씨, 숙제를 언제 보낼 거예요? B: 내일 보낼게요. (I will send it tomorrow.) |
A will be a teacher who asks B when he is going to send the homework. B promises A he will send it tomorrow. |
Here are more examples.
Q : 민수 씨, 제가 생일 선물로 쿠키를 보냈어요. I sent some cookies for your birthday gift.
A : 고마워요. 잘 먹을게요! Thanks! I will enjoy them.
Q: 내일까지 끝낼 수 있어요? Can you finish this by tomorrow?
A: 네, 내일까지 끝낼게요. Yes, I will finish it by tomorrow.
Q: 불고기를 먹고 싶어요. 그런데 불고기를 만들 줄 몰라요. I want to eat Bul-gogi, but I don’t know how to make it.
A: 제가 만들 줄 알아요. 오늘 저녁에 만들어 줄게요. I know, I will make it for you this evening.
Q: 내일 저녁 6시에 공항에 도착할 거예요. I will arrive at the airport at 6 pm tomorrow.
A: 네, 그럼 공항 안에서 기다릴게요. I will wait for you inside the airport.
Q: 민수 씨, 제가 오늘 좀 아파요. 그래서 학교에 못 가요. Minsu, I am sick today, so I can’t go to school.
A : 걱정하지 마세요. 제가 내일 제 공책을 보여 줄게요. Don’t worry! I will show you my note tomorrow.
Q: 무서워요! I am scared!
A: 무서워하지 마세요. 제가 지켜줄게요. Don’t be scared! I will protect you!
Here is another notice!
A lot of Koreans write 을게요 as 을께요, or 을 거예요 as 을 꺼예요 however 을께요 and 을 꺼예요 are wrong! The pronunciation of 을게요 is /을께요/ and 을 거예요 is /을 꺼예요/, so many Koreans get confused by the pronunciation and spelling. If you see someone writing it as 을께요or 을 꺼예요, please correct them! 🙂
정말 감사합니다!
The exact meaning of ㄹ 거예요 was still a mystery for me, until now.
at school I learned -겠어요 and -거예요 to talk about future, but I wasn’t sure about the exact meaning and difference between them because my teacher doesn’t speak Spanish or English well enough to explain 100% exactly… at least ㄹ 거예요 is clear for me now. Thank you very very much ^^
(I’m going to search if you have a post about 겠어요 too now 😀 )
What a great explanation of these two future tenses`. Our teacher wrote she will send ppt file very soon and used 보낼게요. I got confused because for now we`ve been only introduced to -을 거예요 future tense form. So Thank you for helping me to understand the differences between them. So happy that discovered your blog.
I am glad that my blog can help you understand the grammar. 🙂
This lesson was really useful. It was well explained and I learned alot. 감사합니다 🙂
Thanks for visiting, I am so glad that I can help you improve your Korean!
There is a wonderful explanation! THANK YOU!!!
🙂