Learning grammar is one of the most difficult things for Korean language learners. On this blog we will try to help you learn Korean grammar in the quickest and easiest way possible. This blog will be helpful for those who are studying Korean language and want to improve their grammar skills.
Today we’ll see how to form sentences with grammar pattern “ Verb + (으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다 " with some example sentences.
Verb + (으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다 is used to express the possibility or ability. It's similar to ' can or cannot ' expressions in English.
- When someone or something is able to do somethings , or if there is possibility then (으)ㄹ 수 있다 is used.
- When someone or something is not able to do somethings , or if there is no possibility then (으)ㄹ 수 없다 is used.
How to conjugate " Verb + (으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다 " grammar pattern?
No. | Pattern | Case | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | V + ㄹ 수 있다/없다 | Used when the verb stem ends with vowel | 가 - 갈수 있다/없다 |
2 | V + 을 수 있다/없다 | Used when the verb stem ends with consonant | 먹다 - 먹을수 있다/없다 |
1) Regarding the ‘V + ㄹ 수 있다/없다’ conjugation information.
Remove ‘다’ from basic form of the verb, if the verb stem ends with a vowel, add 'ㄹ 수 있다/없다' after the verb stem.
For example in verbs like 가다, after removing ‘다’ the stem ends with a vowel '아', then 'ㄹ 수 있다/없다' has to be added in the end.
Ex : 가 - 갈 수 있다/없다
2) Regarding the ‘V + 을 수 있다/없다’ conjugation information.
Remove ‘다’ from basic form of the verb, if the verb stem ends with a consonant, add '을 수 있다/없다' after the verb stem.
For example in 먹다 after removing ‘다’ the stem ends with a consonant 'ㄱ ', then '을 수 있다/없다' has to be added in the end.
Ex : 먹다 - 먹을수 있다/없다
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
- 농구 잘할 수 있어요 ? (Can you play basketball well ?)
- 오늘 저녁 시간이 만날 수 있을까요 ? (Is it possible to meet this evening?)
- 한국어 할 수 있어요 ? (Can you speak Korean?)
- 한국 음식이 너무 매워서 잘 먹을 수 없어요. (Korean food is so spicy that I can't eat it well.)
- 일 위험한데 잘할 수 있어요. (The work is dangerous but I can do it.)
- 오늘 바빠서 만나서 커피를 마실 수 없어요. (I'm busy today so I can't meet you for coffee.)
Learning Korean can be tricky, especially when the goal of your learning is conversation. If you’ve ever attempted to speak Korean but were unable to, then hopefully you’ll find this post helpful.
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or suggestions. Comment down below.
