Elementary School - Grade 5
Lesson 7: "When..."
-(으)ㄹ 때
Talking About Time
You can say "before" (`-기 전에`) and "after" (`-(으)ㄴ 후에`). Now, let's learn how to say "when" or "at the time of..."
The pattern **-(으)ㄹ 때** attaches to verb and adjective stems to create a clause that sets the time for the main action. It's incredibly common!
The Conjugation Rules
There are three simple rules for `때` (which means "time").
Stem ends in Vowel or ㄹ
... + ㄹ 때
가다 갈 때
"When going"
놀다 놀 때
"When playing"
Stem ends in Consonant (except ㄹ)
... + 을 때
먹다 먹을 때
"When eating"
좋다 좋을 때
"When (it's) good"
For Nouns
... + 때
방학 방학 때
"During vacation"
점심 점심때
"At lunchtime"
Examples in Action
비가 올 때, 집에 있어요.
When it rains, I stay at home.
공부할 때, 음악을 들어요.
When I study, I listen to music.
어렸을 때, 귀여웠어요.
When I was young, I was cute. (Note: `어리다` (to be young) + `었` (past) + `을 때`)
방학 때, 뭐 할 거예요?
During vacation, what will you do?
Coming Up Next...
You can now talk about the *timing* of an action. Next, let's learn how to talk about the *reason* for an action, starting with nouns.