Polite Present Tense — -아요/어요

-아요/어요 is the polite, everyday ending for the present tense. You attach it to the stem of a verb or adjective, and the same form works for statements and questions. Only your rising tone tells a question from a statement.

1. Why learn this

-아요/어요 is the first ending you need to speak Korean to a stranger, a shop clerk or a teacher. It is polite without being stiff, so people use it all day long. If you learn only one verb ending, this is the one.

Every verb and adjective in the dictionary ends in 다, such as 가다 and 좋다. But nobody says the dictionary form in a real sentence. You change it to the -아요/어요 form first, so you will do this change hundreds of times.

The rules are small. You pick 아요 or 어요 by looking at one vowel, and then a few common verbs shorten in a regular way. After that, you can use the noun ending 이에요/예요 to say "I am a student".