Descriptive Verbs vs Action Verbs

In English, you say "I am happy." You need the word "am" to connect them. In Korean, the word for happy is 행복하다. This word already includes the meaning of "to be." You do not need a separate "is" or "am." This is a huge win for you! One word does the job of two. Action verbs like 먹다 (to eat) work similarly. You just conjugate them to fit the situation. The main difference lies in how they change. Some endings only like action verbs. Others only like descriptive verbs. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Green means go for both. Yellow means check the type first. Red means stop and rethink your verb choice.

1. 1Find the dictionary form of the word. It always ends in 다.
2. 2Remove the 다 to find the verb stem.
3. 3For action verbs like 가다 (to go), the stem is 가.
4. 4For descriptive verbs like 크다 (to be big), the stem is 크.
5. 5Add your ending based on the last vowel.
6. 6Use 아요 if the last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ.
7. 7Use 어요 for all other vowels.
8. 8For 하다 words, they always change to 해요.
9. 9Action verbs can take the -고 있다 (am doing) ending.
10. 10Descriptive verbs usually cannot use the -고 있다 ending.

Use action verbs when you are doing something active. Use them for "eating," "running," or "studying." Use descriptive verbs when you describe how something is. Use them for "the weather is cold" or "the food is delicious." Imagine you are at a restaurant. You use an action verb to order: 불고기 주세요 (Give me Bulgogi). Then you use a descriptive verb to praise it: 맛있어요! (It is delicious!). Use action verbs for your daily routine. Use descriptive verbs to share your feelings or opinions. They are the colors and the actions of your sentences. Without both, your Korean would be very boring.

Do not use descriptive verbs with the object marker 을/를. Descriptive verbs describe a subject, they do not act on objects. For example, you cannot "pretty a book." You just say "the book is pretty." Also, avoid using the present progressive -고 있다 with descriptive verbs. In English, we might say "I am being quiet." In Korean, you just say "I am quiet." Using "being" with a state sounds very strange to natives. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes in slang. But for you, keep them separate to stay safe. It is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. It just does not fit naturally.

One big mistake is using 는/ㄴ다 for descriptive verbs in plain form. For action verbs, 간다 (I go) is correct. For descriptive verbs, you just say 예쁘다 (It is pretty). Adding that ㄴ makes it sound like an action. Another mistake is using 좋아하다 and 좋다 interchangeably. 좋다 is descriptive (to be good). 좋아하다 is an action verb (to like). If you say "I am good the movie," people will be confused. Use 좋다 with the subject marker 이/가. Use 좋아하다 with the object marker 을/를. Think of it like a grammar puzzle. The pieces have to match the markers. If they don't, the picture looks blurry.

Compare descriptive verbs with the verb 이다 (to be). 이다 is used to identify what something is. For example, "I am a student" uses 이다. Descriptive verbs describe a quality of that thing. "The student is smart" uses 똑똑하다. Don't confuse them! Also, compare them with the 은/ㄴ adjective form. When a descriptive verb comes before a noun, it changes. 예쁘다 becomes 예쁜. This is like saying "pretty girl" instead of "the girl is pretty." Action verbs change differently when they describe nouns. They usually take 는, like 가는 사람 (the person who goes). It is a subtle but important shift.