-(으)ㄴ/는 것 Nominalization | Korean Grammar Documentation

-(으)ㄴ/는 것 is a nominalization pattern that turns entire clauses into nouns. Unlike -기 which is abstract and general, 것 creates more specific, concrete noun phrases referring to particular instances, facts, or things.

Formation Rules

Present: Verb-는 것

For ongoing or habitual actions:

먹다 → 먹는 것 (eating / the thing [I] eat)
읽다 → 읽는 것 (reading / the thing [I] read)
하다 → 하는 것 (doing / the thing [I] do)
보다 → 보는 것 (watching / the thing [I] watch)

Present: Adjective-(으)ㄴ 것

For current states:

좋다 → 좋은 것 (good things / things that are good)
어렵다 → 어려운 것 (difficult things)
재미있다 → 재미있는 것 (interesting things)
중요하다 → 중요한 것 (important things)

Past: -(으)ㄴ 것

For completed actions or past states:

먹다 → 먹은 것 (what [I] ate)
읽다 → 읽은 것 (what [I] read)
보다 → 본 것 (what [I] saw)
하다 → 한 것 (what [I] did)

Future: -(으)ㄹ 것

For future actions or intentions:

먹다 → 먹을 것 (what [I] will eat)
읽다 → 읽을 것 (what [I] will read)
하다 → 할 것 (what [I] will do)
가다 → 갈 것 (what/where [I] will go)

Core Meaning: "The Thing/Fact That..."

Referring to Specific Things

Concrete instances:

내가 좋아하는 것 (the thing I like - specific)
어제 먹은 것 (the thing I ate yesterday)
지금 하는 것 (the thing I'm doing now)
내일 할 것 (the thing I'll do tomorrow)

Stating Facts

Factual statements:

비가 오는 것 (the fact that it's raining)
그가 떠난 것 (the fact that he left)
중요한 것 (the fact/thing that is important)
사실인 것 (the fact that it's true)

As Subject

-는/-(으)ㄴ 것이 + Adjective

The thing/fact is [adjective]:

중요한 것은 노력이에요 (What's important is effort)
좋은 것은 건강이에요 (What's good is health)
제가 좋아하는 것은 음악이에요 (What I like is music)
필요한 것은 시간이에요 (What's needed is time)

Facts as Subjects

Making factual statements:

그가 오는 것이 확실해요 (It's certain that he's coming)
비가 오는 것 같아요 (It seems like it's raining)
성공하는 것이 어려워요 (Succeeding is difficult - specific case)

As Object

Verb + -는/-(으)ㄴ 것을

The thing/fact as object:

좋아하는 것을 해요 (Do what you like)
먹고 싶은 것을 먹어요 (Eat what you want to eat)
본 것을 말해 주세요 (Tell me what you saw)
배운 것을 복습해요 (Review what you learned)

Perception Verbs

Seeing, hearing, knowing:

보는 것을 봤어요 (I saw what [they] were watching)
듣는 것을 들었어요 (I heard what [they] were listening to)
아는 것을 말했어요 (I said what I know)

Common Patterns

-는 것 같다 (It seems/looks like)

Expressing appearance or opinion:

비가 오는 것 같아요 (It seems like it's raining)
좋은 것 같아요 (It seems good)
재미있는 것 같아요 (It seems interesting)
어려운 것 같아요 (It seems difficult)

Very common pattern for softening statements

-는 것을 보다 (See that...)

Witnessing actions:

그가 가는 것을 봤어요 (I saw him going)
아이들이 노는 것을 봤어요 (I saw the children playing)
눈이 오는 것을 봤어요 (I saw it snowing)

-는 것을 듣다 (Hear that...)

Hearing about things:

노래하는 것을 들었어요 (I heard [them] singing)
그 소식을 들은 것이 기뻐요 (I'm glad to have heard that news)

-(으)ㄴ 것 같다 (Seemed like)

Past impressions:

좋았던 것 같아요 (It seemed like it was good)
재미있었던 것 같아요 (It seemed like it was fun)
어려웠던 것 같아요 (It seemed like it was difficult)

-(으)ㄹ 것이다 (Will/Going to)

Future predictions or intentions:

갈 것이에요 (I will go)
먹을 것이에요 (I will eat)
공부할 것이에요 (I will study)

Short form: -(으)ㄹ 거예요

-는 것을 좋아하다/싫어하다

Specific instances of liking:

음악 듣는 것을 좋아해요 (I like listening to music)
운동하는 것을 싫어해요 (I dislike exercising)
책 읽는 것을 즐겨요 (I enjoy reading books)

-는 것이 좋다 (It's good to...)

Recommendations:

매일 운동하는 것이 좋아요 (It's good to exercise every day)
물을 많이 마시는 것이 좋아요 (It's good to drink a lot of water)
일찍 자는 것이 좋아요 (It's good to sleep early)

Contraction: 거

Casual Speech

것 often becomes 거:

하는 것 → 하는 거
좋은 것 → 좋은 거
먹을 것 → 먹을 거
본 것 → 본 거

-(으)ㄹ 거예요 (Very common)

Future intentions:

갈 거예요 (I'm going to go)
먹을 거예요 (I'm going to eat)
공부할 거예요 (I'm going to study)

From: -(으)ㄹ 것이에요 → -(으)ㄹ 거예요

With Question Words

무엇/뭐 (What)

What thing:

좋아하는 것이 뭐예요? (What do you like?)
먹고 싶은 것이 뭐예요? (What do you want to eat?)
필요한 것이 뭐예요? (What do you need?)

어떤 것 (Which/What kind)

What kind of thing:

어떤 것을 원해요? (What kind do you want?)
어떤 것이 좋아요? (Which one is good?)

Specific vs General

-(으)ㄴ/는 것: Specific instances

Particular things or facts:

어제 먹은 것 (what I ate yesterday - specific meal)
지금 하는 것 (what I'm doing now - specific activity)
좋아하는 것 (things I like - specific items)

-기: General and abstract

General activities:

먹기 (eating in general)
하기 (doing in general)
좋아하기 (liking in general)

Example Sentences

As Subject

중요한 것은 건강이에요 (What's important is health)
제가 좋아하는 것은 책이에요 (What I like is books)
어려운 것은 발음이에요 (What's difficult is pronunciation)
필요한 것은 시간이에요 (What's needed is time)

As Object

먹고 싶은 것을 먹어요 (Eat what you want to eat)
좋아하는 것을 하세요 (Do what you like)
배운 것을 복습했어요 (I reviewed what I learned)
본 것을 이야기했어요 (I talked about what I saw)

With -는 것 같다

비가 오는 것 같아요 (It seems like it's raining)
맛있는 것 같아요 (It seems delicious)
재미있는 것 같아요 (It seems interesting)
좋은 것 같아요 (It seems good)

With -(으)ㄹ 거예요

내일 갈 거예요 (I'm going to go tomorrow)
한국어를 공부할 거예요 (I'm going to study Korean)
친구를 만날 거예요 (I'm going to meet a friend)

Perception

그가 가는 것을 봤어요 (I saw him leaving)
노래하는 것을 들었어요 (I heard [them] singing)
아는 것을 말했어요 (I said what I know)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Preferences

A: 좋아하는 것이 뭐예요?
(What do you like?)

B: 음악 듣는 것을 좋아해요.
(I like listening to music.)

A: 어떤 음악을 듣는 것을 좋아해요?
(What kind of music do you like listening to?)

B: K-pop 듣는 것을 제일 좋아해요.
(I like listening to K-pop the most.)

Dialogue 2: Plans

A: 주말에 뭐 할 거예요?
(What are you going to do on the weekend?)

B: 친구를 만날 거예요.
(I'm going to meet a friend.)

A: 어디서 만날 거예요?
(Where are you going to meet?)

B: 강남에서 만날 거예요.
(We're going to meet in Gangnam.)

Dialogue 3: Recommendations

A: 한국어 공부할 때 중요한 것이 뭐예요?
(What's important when studying Korean?)

B: 매일 연습하는 것이 중요해요.
(Practicing every day is important.)

A: 듣기 연습하는 것도 중요해요?
(Is practicing listening also important?)

B: 네, 듣기와 말하기를 연습하는 것이 좋아요.
(Yes, it's good to practice listening and speaking.)

Dialogue 4: Observations

A: 뭐 하고 있었어요?
(What were you doing?)

B: TV 보고 있었어요.
(I was watching TV.)

A: 뭐 보는 것을 봤어요?
(What did you see [them] watching?)

B: 드라마 보는 것을 봤어요.
(I saw [them] watching a drama.)

Special Expressions

아는 것이 힘이다

Knowledge is power:

Literally: "What you know is power"

중요한 것은...

What's important is...:

Common way to emphasize main points

문제는...

The problem is...:

문제는 시간이 없는 것이에요 (The problem is that there's no time)

With Tense

Past Experience

What happened:

어제 본 것 (what I saw yesterday)
배운 것 (what I learned)
들은 것 (what I heard)

Present State

Current situation:

지금 하는 것 (what I'm doing now)
좋아하는 것 (what I like)
필요한 것 (what is needed)

Future Intention

What will happen:

할 것 (what I will do)
먹을 것 (what I will eat)
갈 것 (where I will go)

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 좋는 것

Using -는 with adjective

✅ Correct: 좋은 것

Adjectives use -(으)ㄴ for present

❌ Incorrect: 먹기를 좋아하는 것 같아요

Mixing -기 and 것 unnecessarily

✅ Correct: 먹는 것을 좋아하는 것 같아요 OR 먹기를 좋아하는 것 같아요

Use one nominalization pattern consistently

❌ Incorrect: 하는을 것

Wrong particle order

✅ Correct: 하는 것을

Particle comes after 것

Comparison Table: -기 vs -(으)ㄴ/는 것

Aspect	-기	-(으)ㄴ/는 것
Nature	Abstract, general	Specific, concrete
Formality	More formal	More conversational
Usage	General activities	Particular instances
Example	읽기를 좋아해요	책 읽는 것을 좋아해요
Meaning	I like reading (in general)	I like reading books (specific)

Summary Table

Form	Tense	Example	Meaning
Verb-는 것	Present	먹는 것	what [I] eat
Adj-(으)ㄴ 것	Present	좋은 것	good things
-(으)ㄴ 것	Past	먹은 것	what [I] ate
-(으)ㄹ 것	Future	먹을 것	what [I] will eat

Key Takeaways

✅ Specific and concrete: Refers to particular things or facts
✅ Full clauses: Can include subjects, objects, and modifiers
✅ Three tenses: Present (는/은), past (은/ㄴ), future (을/ㄹ)
✅ 것 → 거: Commonly contracted in casual speech
✅ Common pattern: -는 것 같다 (seems like)
✅ Essential for: -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (going to)
✅ Different from -기: More specific vs more abstract
✅ Works with adjectives: Using -(으)ㄴ form

-(으)ㄴ/는 것 is fundamental for creating noun phrases from entire clauses in Korean. It's more versatile and common in everyday speech than -기, allowing you to talk about specific things you like, do, see, or plan. Master this pattern to express yourself more naturally and precisely!