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Korean TOPIK I — Grammar Patterns flashcards

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Grammar commonly taught for TOPIK I: particles, 이다 and 있다, polite and formal endings, the irregular stems, past and future, requests, negation with 안 and 못, everyday connectors, ability and obligation, noun modifiers and basic honorifics.

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Learn deck · part of TOPIK I (Korean) · written against: Every word and sense of the TOPIK I list in the TOPIK public vocabulary list (2015; 1,847 entries, 1,793 distinct spellings), with grammar patterns and in-context cloze; spelling and spacing per the Standard Korean Dictionary, romanization per the Revised Romanization of Korean. Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. Which form of the topic particle follows a consonant, and which follows a vowel?
    은 after a final consonant, 는 after a vowel: 책은, 선생님은; 저는, 커피는.
    Particles
  2. How does 이다 (to be) become polite: 학생___ and 의사___?
    이에요 after a consonant, 예요 after a vowel: 학생이에요, 의사예요.

    Watch out: Not ×학생이예요: after a vowel it is 예요, after a consonant 이에요. (A name such as 주영 can take the suffix -이 first, giving 주영이예요.)
    이다 & 있다
  3. How do you choose between -아요 and -어요?
    If the stem's last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ (or the rarer ㅑ, as in 얇다 → 얇아요), add -아요; otherwise add -어요. 살다 → 살아요, 좋다 → 좋아요; 먹다 → 먹어요, 읽다 → 읽어요. 하다 is special: → 해요.
    Polite Endings
  4. How do ㅂ-irregular adjectives such as 덥다 and 쉽다 conjugate?
    ㅂ becomes 우, which merges with -어요 → -워요: 덥다 → 더워요, 쉽다 → 쉬워요, 어렵다 → 어려워요.

    Watch out: 돕다 → 도와요 and 곱다 → 고와요 take -와요; 입다, 좁다 and 잡다 are regular (입어요, 좁아요, 잡아요).
    Irregular Stems
  5. How is the polite past tense formed?
    Add -았어요 after ㅏ/ㅗ stems (also ㅑ: 얇았어요), -었어요 after others, and 했어요 for 하다: 갔어요, 봤어요, 먹었어요, 마셨어요, 공부했어요.
    Tense
  6. What are the two ways to negate 가요, and how are they spelled?
    안 가요 (short form, before the verb) and 가지 않아요 (long form, after the stem). Same meaning; the long form is a little more formal.

    Watch out: 안 is the adverb (short for 아니); 않 is the stem of 않다 (short for 아니하다), used after -지 in -지 않다. Never 않 가요 or 가지 안아요.
    Negation
  7. What does -고 do? Give an example.
    It joins two actions or facts: "and" or "and then". 밥을 먹고 커피를 마셔요. — I eat and then have coffee. 이 가방은 가볍고 예뻐요. — This bag is light and pretty. Tense is normally marked only on the final verb.
    Connectors
  8. How do you say someone is in the middle of doing something?
    Stem + -고 있다: 지금 숙제를 하고 있어요. — I'm doing my homework right now. The honorific form is -고 계시다: 아버지께서 차를 닦고 계세요.
    Aspect · Ability & Obligation
  9. How does a verb modify a noun in the past, present and future?
    Past -(으)ㄴ, present -는, future -(으)ㄹ: 어제 본 영화 (the movie I saw), 지금 보는 영화 (the movie I'm watching), 내일 볼 영화 (the movie I'll watch).
    Noun Modifiers
  10. What are the honorific subject and "to" particles?
    께서 replaces 이/가 (께서는 for 은/는), and 께 replaces 에게/한테. 할머니께서 오셨어요. — Grandmother has come. 선생님께 질문했어요. — I asked the teacher a question.
    Honorifics

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More TOPIK I (Korean) decks

Hangul & Pronunciation RulesCore Vocabulary, Part 1Core Vocabulary, Part 2Core Vocabulary, Part 3Core Vocabulary, Part 4Core Vocabulary, Part 5Core Vocabulary, Part 6In Context, Part 1Core Vocabulary, Part 7Core Vocabulary, Part 8Core Vocabulary, Part 9Core Vocabulary, Part 10Core Vocabulary, Part 11In Context, Part 2Core Vocabulary, Part 12Core Vocabulary, Part 13Core Vocabulary, Part 14Core Vocabulary, Part 15Core Vocabulary, Part 16In Context, Part 3Core Vocabulary, Part 17Core Vocabulary, Part 18Core Vocabulary, Part 19Core Vocabulary, Part 20Core Vocabulary, Part 21In Context, Part 4Practice Questions

← All TOPIK I (Korean) decks, with the study guide and topic outline.

About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Grammar points reflect patterns commonly taught at TOPIK I level; nearly all are on the beginner grammar list (sheet 공개 문법 목록 of the file 한국어능력시험_초급어휘목록_공개용.xls) that the National Institute for International Education attached to its 2009-04-17 notice '한국어능력시험 초급/중급 어휘·문법 목록 안내' in the TOPIK 자료실 at topik.go.kr, made for the earlier test format (no newer official grammar list is assumed). Spelling, spacing and conjugations checked against the National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary (표준국어대사전) and Hangul orthography rules. Reference only; all explanations and example sentences are original.

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