갈아
gah-rah
gara
갈다
To say to change, to replace, to switch (in general) politely in the present tense, use 갈아요 (gah-rah-yoh) · garayo. Below is the full conjugation of 갈다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (ㄹ stem): ㄹ-stem verbs end in ㄹ as the final consonant. They are conjugated regularly with vowel suffixes (살다 → 살아요), but the ㄹ drops before certain consonant suffixes — specifically before ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and before the formal ending 습니다: 살다 → 사는, 삽니다, 살지 (ㄹ kept before ㅈ). This is sometimes called a "ㄹ drop" or "ㄹ irregular." See all ㄹ-stem verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 갈아요 gah-rah-yoh garayo | 갑니다 gahm-nee-dah gamnida | |
| Past | 갈았어 gah-rah-ssuh garasseo | 갈았어요 gah-rah-ssuh-yoh garasseoyo | 갈았습니다 gah-rah-sseum-nee-dah garasseumnida |
| Future | 갈 거야 gahl guh-yah gal geoya | 갈 거예요 gahl guh-yae-yoh gal geoyeyo | 갈 겁니다 gahl guhm-nee-dah gal geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
가세요
gah-sae-yoh
gaseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
갈아요
gah-rah-yoh
garayo
Question Polite (요)
갈아요?
gah-rah-yoh-?
garayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
갈고
gahl-goh
galgo
Conditional "if" — (면)
갈면
gahl-myuhn
galmyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
갈고 있어요
gahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
galgo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
갈고 싶어요
gahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
galgo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
갈 수 있어요
gahl soo ee-ssuh-yoh
gal su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
갈아서
gah-rah-suh
garaseo
Noun form — (기)
갈기
gahl-gee
galgi
Noun form — (음)
갊
gahm
gam