LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

KOREAN QUESTIONS ~니

When asking a question, instead of ending your sentences with ~아/어, you can end them with ~니. This is an informal way to ask a question, and you can do this in all tenses. For example:

Past tense: 했니, 먹었니, 갔니, 이었니
Present tense: 하니, 먹니, 가니, 이니
Future tense (~겠): 하겠니, 먹겠니, 가겠니
Future tense (~ㄹ 것이다): 할 거니, 할 것이니, 먹을 거니, 먹을 것이니

However, note that using this form gives the sentence a slightly feminine feel to it. However, at a Korean high school, I hear female Korean teachers use this form all the time when asking questions to a student.

시험을 잘 봤니? - Did you write the exam well (did you do well on the exam)?
서울에 가겠니? - Are you going to go to Seoul?
몇 반이니? - What class are you in?

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You learned how irregular words change as a result of adding different additions. This is the first time you have been introduced to adding ~니.

The only irregular that applies when adding ~니 is the ㄹ irregular. When you add ~니 to a stem of a word that ends in ㄹ, you must drop the ㄹ from the stem, and attach the grammatical principle to the remainder of the word. For example:

열다 + ~니 = 여니

As you know, some additions require the speaker to choose between two possible options – for example, choosing between ~아 and ~어 when adding ~아/어. Notice that when adding ~니 there is no choice. I call this a "solid ㄴ." That is, there is only one choice, and it starts with ㄴ.

You will learn other grammatical additions that have a solid ㄴ. For example:

~나
~는
~는데
~네
~나

All grammatical additions where a solid ㄴ is attached to a word follow the same rule as when ~니 is added. Below are some examples of ~니 in use with the ㄹ irregular:

뭐 만드니? - What are you making?
마음에 드니? - Do you like it?
어디 사니? - Where do you live?