Forms in Different Tenses

Adjectives in Korean are “descriptive verbs” (형용사). Unlike action verbs, they do not change much by tense because an adjective already describes a state. However, when using modifiers in different contexts, here’s how they work:

Present Tense

Use -(으)ㄴ directly.

• 예쁜 꽃 = pretty flower
• 맛있는 음식 = delicious food

Past Tense

Use -았/었던 or -었던 depending on nuance.

• 예뻤던 꽃 = the flower that was pretty
• 맛있었던 음식 = the food that was delicious

Future Tense

Use -(으)ㄹ (future modifier, not -(으)ㄴ).

• 예쁠 꽃 = the flower that will be pretty
• 맛있을 음식 = the food that will be delicious

Important Clarification: General Modifier ㄴ/은

The present adjective modifier -(으)ㄴ is not strictly limited to present tense. Its primary role is to show a general characteristic or state of a noun, regardless of timeframe.

For example:

• 비싼 가방 = an expensive bag

This can mean:

• the bag is expensive (present),

• the bag was expensive (past), or

• the bag will be expensive (future).

It describes the inherent quality of the bag without tying it to a specific time.

If you want to highlight past or future specifically, you switch to:

• Past: 비쌌던 가방 (the bag that was expensive)

• Future: 비쌀 가방 (the bag that will be expensive)

So, -(으)ㄴ/은 is the default, all-purpose modifier, while 던 and ㄹ/을 specify time more clearly.