동사 활용

Verb stems and the -요 ending

How 하다, 가다, and 먹다 become polite present tense.

Dictionary -다 comes off

Dictionary form ends in -다: 가다, 먹다, 하다. Drop 다 to get the stem. Then: if the last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, add -아요 (가다 → 가요). Otherwise -어요 (먹다 → 먹어요). 하다 is irregular: 해요.

A handful of verbs change consonants (ㄷ, 르, ㅂ). Learn 듣다 → 들어요, 걷다 → 걸어요 as high-frequency exceptions rather than a wall of rules on day one.

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