Gerunds - Changing Verbs into Nouns

Category
Basic Grammar
Premium
Keyword #
-는 것, 동명사
Lesson
25

TL;DR

  • Gerunds turn action verbs into nouns by adding -는 것 to the verb stem 🔄
  • Use gerunds when you want to talk about doing something, rather than just doing it (like "I like swimming" vs "I swim") 🏊
  • -는 것 can be shortened to -기 in many cases, and they're mostly interchangeable! ✨

What's a Gerund? 🤔

In English, we can turn verbs into nouns by adding "-ing" 📝
"I like to run" → "I like running" 🏃
Korean does the same thing! We take a verb and transform it into a noun so we can talk about the action itself 💭

The Magic Formula: -는 것 ✨

Here's how it works:
Verb stem + 는 것
That's it! 🎉

Examples 💜

→ 먹다 → 먹는 것 (eating)
→ 자다 → 자는 것 (sleeping)
→ 공부하다 → 공부하는 것 (studying)
→ 운동하다 → 운동하는 것 (exercising)

Using Gerunds in Sentences 💬

Now you can use these noun-ified verbs as the subject or object of a sentence! 🎯
→ 저는 음악 듣는 것을 좋아해요. (I like listening to music.)
→ 자는 것이 중요해요. (Sleeping is important.)
→ 한국어 배우는 것은 재미있어요. (Learning Korean is fun.)
→ 요리하는 것을 싫어해요. (I hate cooking.)

The Shortcut: -기 🚀

Good news! There's a shorter version that means basically the same thing 🙌
Verb stem + 기
→ 먹다 → 먹기 (eating)
→ 자다 → 자기 (sleeping)
→ 공부하다 → 공부하기 (studying)
Same sentences, shorter version:
→ 저는 음악 듣기를 좋아해요. (I like listening to music.)
→ 자기가 중요해요. (Sleeping is important.)
→ 한국어 배우기는 재미있어요. (Learning Korean is fun.)

-는 것 vs -기: Which One? 🤷

Most of the time, they're totally interchangeable! Use whichever sounds better to you 🎵
But here are some tiny differences:
-는 것 feels slightly more natural when:
  • The sentence is longer or more descriptive 📏
  • You're emphasizing the action itself 💪
-기 feels slightly more natural when:
  • The sentence is short and simple 📝
  • You're using certain set phrases or expressions 💡
Don't stress about this too much though! Native speakers use both freely 😊

Common Phrases with -기 🌟

Some expressions just sound better with -기:
→ 시작하기 (starting / to start)
→ 끝내기 (finishing / to finish)
→ ~하기 쉽다 (easy to do)
→ ~하기 어렵다 (hard to do)
→ ~하기 전에 (before doing)
Examples:
→ 한국어는 배우기 쉬워요. (Korean is easy to learn.)
→ 먹기 전에 손을 씻으세요. (Wash your hands before eating.)

Exceptions ⚠️

There aren't really major exceptions here! Both -는 것 and -기 work with pretty much all verbs 🎊
Just remember: these are for action verbs only, not descriptive verbs (adjectives) 🚫
For adjectives, you'd use different structures (we'll cover those in other lessons!) 📚
You've got this! 💪✨
 
Try the following exercise.
Fill in the blanks using -는 것 to turn the verb into a noun. 📝
 
  • 저는 음악을 _ 좋아해요. (듣다)
      • Answer
      듣는 것을
 
 
  • 한국어를 _ 재미있어요. (배우다)
      • Answer
      배우는 것은
 
 
  • 친구를 _ 행복해요. (만나다)
      • Answer
      만나는 것은
 
 
  • 영화를 _ 취미예요. (보다)
      • Answer
      보는 것이
 
 
  • 커피를 _ 좋아해요. (마시다)
      • Answer
      마시는 것을
 
 
  • 책을 _ 즐거워요. (읽다)
      • Answer
      읽는 것은
 
 
  • 운동을 _ 건강에 좋아요. (하다)
      • Answer
      하는 것은
 
 
  • 노래를 _ 좋아해요. (부르다)
      • Answer
      부르는 것을
 
 
  • 한국 드라마를 _ 재미있어요. (보다)
      • Answer
      보는 것이
 
 
  • 요리를 _ 어려워요. (하다)
      • Answer
      하는 것은
Vocabulary
듣다 - to listen
배우다 - to learn
만나다 - to meet
보다 - to watch, to see
마시다 - to drink
읽다 - to read
운동 - exercise
하다 - to do
부르다 - to sing
드라마 - drama (TV series)
요리 - cooking
Common mistakes
  • 🚫 Forgetting to remove 다 from the verb stem before adding -는 것
  • 🚫 Using -은 것 with action verbs instead of -는 것
  • 🚫 Confusing -는 것 (gerund) with -는 거 (casual spoken form)
  • 🚫 Not matching the correct particle (은/는/이/가/을/를) after -는 것