For many of you, one of the most versatile Korean words would be 것. Meaning literally “a thing,” this tiny little syllable, when used as an abstract noun, may confuse your journey in Korean grammar study. Here is my explanation that can help you avoid such confusion and errors. In English, the abstract noun 것 can be translated in three different ways: 

  1. What: The subject or object of the preceding sentence (the thing that …)

Adding -은/는 after a verb/adjective stem, the 것 can work as a relative pronoun for the subject or the object of the modified sentence, IF the syntax and the verb of the sentence require it: 

  • 그게 나를 도와주는 것이야 That is what helps me [ 것 is the subject of the sentence 나를 도와주-다 “the thing” helps me ]
  • 그게 내가 할 수 있는 것이야 That is what I can do [ 것 is the object of the sentence 내가 할 수 있-다 I can do “the thing” ]
  1. Gerund of the Verb (-ing) or to-infinitive: The noun form of the preceding verb 

If the preceding sentence is complete as it is and the syntax does not require a subject or an object, the 것 can be translated as a gerund (-ing) of the verb, or into a to-infinitive: 

  • 감사하지 않는 것과 감사해 달라고 하는 것은 꽤 다른 외교적 결례이다. 전자는 결국 이기고, 후자는 거의 모든 경우에 진다. To not thank and to demand thankfulness are rather different diplomatic discourtesies. The former wins and the latter almost always loses.
  • 너를 생각하는 것이 내 일이야 Thinking of you is my job [ Here, the implicit subject of 너를 생각하다 is “내가”.  So it is correct to translate 너를 생각하는 것 into “Thinking of you” as a gerund, not into “What thinks of you.” Please note that “것 (thing)” can never be a person. ] 
  1. Conjunction “That” + a Subordinate Clause: The fact/thing that … 

Suppose the 것 is followed by a complete sentence with a conjugated verb in the present (diary form) or past/future tense. In that case, the entire preceding sentence can be translated into a subordinate clause led by the conjunction “that”: 

  • 내가 널 생각한다는 것을 넌 알고 있니? Do you know that I think of you? [생각한다 = diary form conjugation of 생각하다 (to think); “내가 널 생각한다” is a complete sentence, which is a subordinate clause for the main verb 알고 있니 => Do you know that …. ]
  • 네가 5살 때 오믈렛을 요리했다는 건 대단한 거야 It is amazing that you made an omelet at the age of 5. [ 했다 = past tense of 하다 => +는 건 (contraction of 것은) = … that + full sentence clause ] 

Please note that in spoken Korean, particularly in casual conversations, people use contractions of 것은, 것을, etc.: 

  • 건, 거는, 거: contraction forms of 것은 (topic marker)
  • 게, 거가: contraction forms of 것이 (subject marker)
  • 걸, 거를, 거: contraction forms of 것을 (object marker)

Level C1: In the following video, the poet writes his last poem, “너를 생각하는 것이 나의 일생이었지” before he dies of cancer. You want to translate my English translation of the poem back into Korean, but in a casually spoken register with contraction forms of 것. Which of the following is incorrect?

a) I thought of you when I saw a grain of sand 모래알 하나 보고도 널 생각했지

b) I thought of you when I saw a blade of grass 풀잎 하날 보고도 널 생각했지 

c) There is nothing in this world that does not make me think of you 널 생각하게 하지 않는 건 이 세상에 없어

d) Thinking of you has been my entire life 널 생각하는 거 내 일생이었지

모래알 하나를 보고도
너를 생각했지

풀잎 하나를 보고도
너를 생각했지

너를 생각하게 하지 않는 것은
이 세상에 없어

너를 생각하는 것이
나의 일생이었지
When I saw a grain of sand
I thought of you 

When I saw a blade of grass
I thought of you

There is nothing in this world
That does not make me think of you

Thinking of you 
Has been my entire life

– 정채봉 (1946∼2001), “너를 생각하는 것이 나의 일생이었지”

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