🇰🇷 Lesson 17: Wants, Plans & the Future

In Lesson 15 you learned to look back: 갔어요, 먹었어요, 재미있었어요. Now we look forward. This lesson gives you the endings for everything that hasn't happened yet: what you want, what you plan, what you promise, what you suggest, and why you're going somewhere. That sounds like a lot, but every pattern here is built the same way — stem + ending — and most of them share one small helper sound, (으). Master that helper and the whole lesson falls into place.

🧠 The Mental Model: The (으) Cushion

Most endings in this lesson start with a consonant sound: -ㄹ 거예요, -ㅂ시다, -러, -려고. Korean doesn't like to pile a consonant straight onto a stem that already ends in a consonant, so it slips in a soft "cushion" vowel, 으. Think of it like English adding "a" vs. "an" to keep sounds smooth.

The only pattern in this lesson without the cushion is the first one, -고 싶다, because -고 attaches straight to every stem.

💭 1. Wanting: -고 싶어요

Attach -고 싶어요 to any verb stem to say "I want to…". The stem never changes.

싶다 is itself an adjective, so it conjugates like one: 싶어요 (present), 싶었어요 (past — Lesson 15!), 싶지 않아요 (negative — Lesson 10). Note that -고 싶다 is only for verbs. To want a thing, use a different word: 커피를 원해요 or, more naturally, 커피 마시고 싶어요 / 커피 주세요.

Other people's wishes: -고 싶어해요

Korean is careful about claiming to know what's inside someone else's head. You can say "I want" directly, and you can ask "do you want?", but for a third person you describe the wish from the outside with -고 싶어해요 — roughly "shows that they want".

📅 2. Plans & Predictions: -(으)ㄹ 거예요

This is the everyday future. It means "I'm going to…" for plans, and "it'll probably…" for predictions.

Pronunciation: after -(으)ㄹ, the ㄱ of 거 is tensed, so 갈 거예요 sounds like [갈 꺼예요], and 거예요 itself is often pronounced [거에요]. But the spelling is always 거예요. Negatives work as usual: 안 갈 거예요 "I'm not going to go". With someone you honor, add -(으)시-: 언제 가실 거예요? "When will you go?"

🤝 3. Promises & Offers: -(으)ㄹ게요

-(으)ㄹ게요 is a future with a relationship built in. It means "I'll… (for you / since you mention it / I promise)". It is a response to the listener and the situation.

🙋 4. Suggestions: -(으)ㄹ까요? and "Let's"

-(으)ㄹ까요? literally asks "shall…?" With 우리 or 같이 it means "shall we?"; with 제가 it offers "shall I?"; and about the world it wonders aloud, "do you think…?"

To say "let's" there are two tools:

• -아요/어요 with 같이 or 우리 — the plain present you already know, used as a suggestion: 같이 가요! "Let's go!" 우리 커피 마셔요. "Let's have coffee." It's warm and works with almost anyone. Answering 같이 갈까요? with 네, 같이 가요! is perfect.
• -(으)ㅂ시다 — a formal "let's": 갑시다! 먹읍시다! 시작합시다! "Let's begin!" It's used by a leader to a group, in announcements, or between equals. Because it sounds like you are directing people, don't use it to your boss, teacher or elders.

🎯 5. Going Somewhere to Do Something: -(으)러 가다/오다

English says "I'm going to buy a book" — and that "to" is ambiguous. Korean marks purpose with -(으)러, and it is only used with movement verbs: 가다, 오다, 다니다 (and their family, like 나가다, 들어오다).

놀러 가다 "go to hang out / go on an outing" is one of the most common phrases in Korean — and a nice ㄹ-stem example: 놀다 → 놀러, not ✗ 놀으러.

🧭 6. Intentions: -(으)려고 해요

-(으)려고 해요 means "I intend to / I'm thinking of / I'm planning to". It's softer than -(으)ㄹ 거예요 — the plan is in your head, not necessarily on the calendar.

That last one is especially useful: -(으)려고 했어요 = "I was going to (but…)". It combines this lesson with Lesson 15's past tense.

⏰ Future Time Words

Same logic as the past words in Lesson 15: 어제/내일/아까/이따가 stand alone, while 지난주/다음 주, 작년/내년 take 에. 이따가 (later today) and 아까 (earlier today) make a handy pair.

Planning words

Note that 약속 is broader than English "promise": 약속이 있어요 simply means "I have plans (with someone)" — the polite way to decline an invitation.

💬 Dialogue: Weekend Plans

Sujin and Minjun are chatting on Thursday afternoon.

Count the patterns: 할 거예요 (plan question), 만나러 갈 거예요 (purpose + plan), 쉬려고 해요 (intention), 보고 싶어요 (want), 볼까요 / 만날까요 (suggestion), 만나요 (let's), 살게요 (promise). Seven tools in eight lines — that's what a real conversation about the future looks like.

🌏 Culture Note — "언제 밥 한번 먹어요!": You'll often hear 언제 밥 한번 먹어요 — "Let's have a meal sometime." It uses the "let's" -아요 you just learned, but it's usually a friendly way to end a conversation, like "We should get together sometime!" in English, rather than a real invitation. If someone actually wants to meet, they'll follow up with a day: 다음 주 금요일에 시간 있어요? And when you're treated to a meal, 잘 먹을게요 before eating (or the more formal set phrase 잘 먹겠습니다) and 잘 먹었습니다 afterwards are the expected thank-yous.

Six patterns in one lesson is a lot, and mixing up 거예요 and 게요 for a while is completely normal — even intermediate learners do. Every mix-up you notice is your ear getting sharper.

✏️ Practice

🧠 Check Your Understanding

❓ Common Questions

🔮 Looking Ahead

In Lesson 18: Hobbies & Daily Life you'll put this lesson to work every day: 주말에 뭐 할 거예요?, 등산하러 갈까요?, 기타를 배우고 싶어요. You'll learn the vocabulary for sports, music and free time — and you now have the grammar to invite someone along.