Learn Hangul Grammer 07

🟩 Negative Sentences in Korean (Verbs and Adjectives)

1. Overview

In Korean, negative sentences are used to express that an action does not happen, or a state is not true. Like English “don’t”, “can’t”, “didn’t”, Korean has a few different ways to form negatives using special particles and endings.

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2. Main Negative Forms

Type	Example Structure	Usage
안	안 + verb/adjective	General, colloquial negative
-지 않다	verb/adjective + -지 않다	More formal or descriptive
못	못 + verb	Can’t / not able to
없다	Using 없다	Expresses lack or absence

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3. How They Work

✅ 1) 안 + verb/adjective

• “안” means “not”
• Common in everyday speech.
• Goes before the main verb or adjective.

Examples:

• 안 먹어요 = I don’t eat
• 안 예뻐요 = She’s not pretty

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✅ 2) -지 않다

• Equivalent to “do not”, “did not” in English.
• More formal or written.
• Conjugates like any other verb.

Examples:

• 먹지 않아요 = I don’t eat
• 예쁘지 않아요 = She is not pretty
• 가지 않았어요 = I didn’t go

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✅ 3) 못 + verb

• Means “cannot” or “not able to”
• Used only with action verbs, not adjectives.

Examples:

• 못 자요 = I can’t sleep
• 못 해요 = I can’t do it

❗ You can’t use 못 with adjectives:
Incorrect: ❌ 못 예뻐요
Correct: ✅ 안 예뻐요 / 예쁘지 않아요

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✅ 4) 없다

• The opposite of 있다 (to have, to exist)
• Used to say something does not exist or someone doesn’t have something.

Examples:

• 시간이 없어요 = I don’t have time
• 사람이 없어요 = There is no one

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4. Tenses with Negative Sentences

Negative expressions can be used with past, present, and future tenses:

Type	Present	Past	Future
안	안 해요	안 했어요	안 할 거예요
-지 않다	하지 않아요	하지 않았어요	하지 않을 거예요
못	못 자요	못 잤어요	못 잘 거예요
없다	없어요	없었어요	없을 거예요

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5. Verbs vs Adjectives

Both verbs and adjectives can use “안” and “-지 않다”.

But only verbs can use “못”.

Type	Example
Verb + 안	안 먹어요
Adj + 안	안 예뻐요
Verb + 못	못 가요
Adj + 못	❌ (Incorrect)

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6. Word Order

Negative words come before the verb (for "안", "못"), or attach after the stem (for “-지 않다”).

Examples:

• 나는 안 가요 = I’m not going
• 나는 먹지 않아요 = I don’t eat
• 나는 못 자요 = I can’t sleep

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7. Extra Notes

• Emphatic Negation: use 전혀 (completely), 절대 (never), 하나도 (not even one)
• Examples:
• 전혀 안 해요 = I don’t do it at all
• 절대 가지 않아요 = I’ll never go
• Avoid double negatives like:
• ❌ 나는 안 가지 않아요 → awkward and confusing