ㄹ irregular verbs

Verbs and adjectives whose stem ends with a ㄹ 받침 are irregular. Some examples of include 알다, 살다, 열다 and 팔다. These verbs/adjectives don't follow normal conjugation rules required for 받침 containing stems, and instead follow the conjugation rules of non 받침 verbs. Also if followed by ㄴ,ㅂ,ㅅ, then the ㄹ in the stem disappears.

Explanation

Normally verb/adjectives whose stem has a 받침 follows a certain type of rule to conjugate it with a grammar pattern. If you notice in this wiki and many other text books, there is often a (으) in grammar patterns, some examples include A/V + (으)면, A/V + (으)니까. So for example, the pattern A/V + (으)면 has two rules, if it has a 받침 at the end of the stem, add 으면 to the stem, otherwise just add 면 to the stem.

A/V+(으)면
Rule 1: If there is no 받침 add 면
Rule 2: If there is a 받침 add 으면

Example of the Process for Conjugating A/V+(으)면

Step #	가다 (to go)	먹다 (to eat)	알다 (to know)
Step 1: Does it have a 받침 at the end of stem?	No	Yes, the 받침 is ㄱ	Yes, the 받침 is ㄹ (special case)
Step 2: Find proper conjugation rule	Use rule 1: A/V + 면	Use rule 2: A/V + 으면	It is a ㄹ 받침 (irregular) and we treat it like there is no 받침, so we must use rule 1 instead of rule 2, so A/V + 면
Step 3: Apply the conjugation rule	가면	먹으면	알면

A/V + (으)ㄹ 거예요

As stated previously, these verbs/adjective stem follow the same conjugation rules as stem without a 받침.So if it is followed by ㄴ,ㅂ,ㅅ, then the ㄹ disappears. For example 팔다 in the grammar form V + (으)세요 becomes 파세요, NOT 팔세요.

• show image

Example of the Process for Conjugating A/V+(으)니까

Step #	가다 (to go)	먹다 (to eat)	알다 (to know)
Step 1: Does it have a 받침 at the end of stem?	No	Yes, the 받침 is ㄱ	Yes, the 받침 is ㄹ (special case)
Step 2: Find proper conjugation rule	Use rule 1: A/V + 니까	Use rule 2: A/V + 으니까	It is a ㄹ 받침 (irregular) and we treat it like there is no 받침, so we must use rule 1 instead of rule 2, so A/V + 니까
Step 3: Apply the conjugation rule	가니까	먹으니까	알니까
Step 4: Fix conflict	No conflict(regular verb)	No conflict(regular verb)	The ㄹ disappears and it becomes 아니까 because there was a conflict between the ㄹ 받침 and ㄴ in the previous step.

also cases like 로, 면 ㄹ can't be used with (으) cases?

seperate table for ㄹ + grammars like future tense, 로, and 면? Also ㄴ/는데

More Examples

Below are a table of conjugation examples. These rules apply the same for other irregular ㄹ verbs such as: 길다,놀다, 들다, 만들다, 멀다, 살다, 알다, 열다, 울다, 팔다, 힘들다 (etc).

Conjugation Examples

Verb/Adj	A/V + (스)ㅂ니다	A/V + 아 / 어 / 여 + 요	A/V + 았/었 + 어요	A/V + (으)ㄹ 거예요	A/V + (으)니까	A/V + (으)면	A + 군요 / V + 는군요	A/V + 니	V + (으)세요
길다 (to be long)	깁니다	길어요	길었어요	길 거예요	기니까	길면	길군요	기니
만들다 (to make)	만듭니다	만들어요	만들었어요	만들 거예요	만드니까	만들면	만드는군요	만드니
멀다 (to be far)	멉니다	멀어요	멀었어요	멀 거예요	머니까	멀면	멀군요	머니
알다 (to know)	압니다	알아요	알았어요	알 거예요	아니까	알면	아는군요	아니
힘들다 (to difficult, tiring)	힘듭니다	힘들어요	힘들었어요	힘들 거예요	힘드니까	힘들면	힘들군요	힘드니