-는 거예요

-는 거예요 (formal: -는 것입니다) is an explanatory and emphatic pattern meaning "it is that..." Used to explain reasons, emphasize, or clarify situations.

Structure

Verb stem + -는 거예요

Meaning: "It is that [verb]" / "[verb]-ing is what..."

Formation

Present Tense: -는 거예요

Action verbs:

가다 → 가는 거예요 (it's that [I/you] go)
먹다 → 먹는 거예요 (it's that [I/you] eat)
공부하다 → 공부하는 거예요 (it's that [I/you] study)

Stative verbs (adjectives):

좋다 → 좋은 거예요 (it's that it's good)
크다 → 큰 거예요 (it's that it's big)
예쁘다 → 예쁜 거예요 (it's that it's pretty)

Past Tense: -(으)ㄴ 거예요

All verbs:

가다 → 간 거예요 (it's that [I/you] went)
먹다 → 먹은 거예요 (it's that [I/you] ate)
좋다 → 좋았던 거예요 (it's that it was good)

Future Tense: -(으)ㄹ 거예요

All verbs:

가다 → 갈 거예요 (it's that [I/you] will go)
먹다 → 먹을 거예요 (it's that [I/you] will eat)
공부하다 → 공부할 거예요 (it's that [I/you] will study)

Core Meanings

1. Explanation

Explaining reasons or situations:

늦어서 죄송해요. 차가 막혔던 거예요. (Sorry I'm late. It's that traffic was jammed.)
왜 안 왔어요? - 아팠던 거예요. (Why didn't you come? - It's that I was sick.)

2. Emphasis

Emphasizing the action:

제가 하는 거예요 (It's ME who's doing it)
지금 가는 거예요 (I'm going NOW)

3. Clarification

Clarifying misunderstandings:

장난이 아니에요. 진짜인 거예요. (It's not a joke. It's REAL.)
빌린 게 아니라 산 거예요. (I didn't borrow it, I BOUGHT it.)

Usage Contexts

Explaining Actions

Why you did something:

A: 왜 그랬어요? (Why did you do that?)
B: 도와주고 싶었던 거예요. (It's that I wanted to help.)

Describing Situations

What happened:

그냥 농담한 거예요 (I was just joking - that's what happened)
실수한 거예요 (It's that I made a mistake)

Future Plans

What you're going to do:

내일 만날 거예요 (It's that we'll meet tomorrow)
같이 갈 거예요 (It's that we'll go together)

거 vs 것

Casual: 거예요

Spoken form (contraction):

가는 거예요
먹는 거예요
Most common in speech

Formal: 것입니다/것이에요

Full form:

가는 것입니다
먹는 것이에요
More common in writing

Both mean the same thing

Common Patterns

Question Form: -는 거예요?

Asking for explanation:

뭐 하는 거예요? (What are you doing?)
어디 가는 거예요? (Where are you going?)
왜 우는 거예요? (Why are you crying?)

Negative: -는 게 아니에요

It's not that...:

싫어하는 게 아니에요 (It's not that I dislike it)
모르는 게 아니에요 (It's not that I don't know)

Past Explanation: -(으)ㄴ 거예요

Explaining what happened:

깜빡한 거예요 (I forgot - that's what happened)
늦잠 잔 거예요 (I overslept)
몰랐던 거예요 (I didn't know)

Emphasis Patterns

Subject Emphasis

Emphasizing WHO:

제가 하는 거예요 (It's ME doing it)
우리가 가는 거예요 (It's US going)

Action Emphasis

Emphasizing WHAT:

공부하는 거예요 (I'm STUDYING)
쉬는 거예요 (I'm RESTING)

Time Emphasis

Emphasizing WHEN:

지금 가는 거예요 (I'm going NOW)
내일 하는 거예요 (I'll do it TOMORROW)

Politeness Levels

Formal (합니다체)

가는 것입니다 (it's that [I] go)
먹는 것입니다 (it's that [I] eat)

Polite (해요체)

가는 거예요 (it's that [I] go)
먹는 거예요 (it's that [I] eat)

Casual (반말)

가는 거야 (it's that [I] go)
먹는 거야 (it's that [I] eat)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Explanation

A: 왜 안 왔어요? (Why didn't you come?)

B: 아파서 못 간 거예요. (It's that I couldn't go because I was sick.)

Dialogue 2: Clarification

A: 화났어요? (Are you angry?)

B: 아니에요, 피곤한 거예요. (No, it's that I'm tired.)

Dialogue 3: Future Plan

A: 내일 뭐 해요? (What are you doing tomorrow?)

B: 친구 만날 거예요. (It's that I'll meet a friend.)

Dialogue 4: Current Action

A: 지금 뭐 하는 거예요? (What are you doing now?)

B: 숙제하는 거예요. (I'm doing homework.)

Special Patterns

그런 거예요 (That's How It Is)

Accepting situation:

원래 그런 거예요 (That's how it is originally)
인생이 그런 거예요 (That's life)

-는 거 아니에요 (It's Not That)

Strong denial:

싫어하는 거 아니에요 (It's not that I dislike it)
그런 거 아니에요 (It's not like that)

-기 때문인 거예요 (It's Because)

Reason emphasis:

바쁘기 때문인 거예요 (It's because I'm busy)

Common Expressions

Daily Explanations

그냥 물어본 거예요 (I was just asking)
도와주려던 거예요 (I was trying to help)
농담한 거예요 (I was joking)
실수한 거예요 (I made a mistake)

Clarifications

그런 뜻이 아닌 거예요 (That's not what I meant)
오해인 거예요 (It's a misunderstanding)
사실인 거예요 (It's the truth)

Future Intentions

내일 할 거예요 (I'll do it tomorrow)
같이 갈 거예요 (We'll go together)
도와줄 거예요 (I'll help)

-는 거예요 vs -는 중이에요

Explanation/emphasis:

공부하는 거예요 (It's that I'm studying - explaining)

-는 중이에요

In the middle of:

공부하는 중이에요 (I'm in the middle of studying)

Different focus

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 가는 거 예요

Spacing error

✅ Correct: 가는 거예요

No space between 거 and 예요

❌ Incorrect: 가 거예요

Missing -는

✅ Correct: 가는 거예요

Need present tense marker

Softening Effect

More Indirect

-는 거예요 sounds softer than direct:

Direct:

가요 (I'm going)

Softer:

가는 거예요 (It's that I'm going)

Common in Korean communication style

Summary Table

Tense	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Present	-는 거예요	가는 거예요	it's that [I] go
Past	-(으)ㄴ 거예요	간 거예요	it's that [I] went
Future	-(으)ㄹ 거예요	갈 거예요	it's that [I] will go
Adjective	-(으)ㄴ 거예요	좋은 거예요	it's that it's good
Negative	-는 게 아니에요	가는 게 아니에요	it's not that [I] go

Key Takeaways

✅ Explanatory: Used to explain and clarify
✅ Emphatic: Emphasizes the action or situation
✅ Softens: Makes statements more indirect
✅ Very common: Essential daily pattern
✅ Three tenses: Present, past, future forms
✅ Contraction: 거 is shortened form of 것

-는 거예요 is fundamental for natural Korean conversation, allowing you to explain, clarify, and emphasize in a characteristically Korean indirect way.