Present
현재 · now and habits: polite, formal and casual speech
| Form | Polite | Formal | Casual |
|---|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI keep | |||
| NegativeI don’t keep |
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
과거 · finished actions: 갔어요, 갔습니다, 갔어
| Form | Polite | Formal | Casual |
|---|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI kept | |||
| NegativeI didn’t keep |
Future
미래 · plans and guesses: -(으)ㄹ 거예요
| Form | Polite | Formal | Casual |
|---|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI will keep | |||
| NegativeI won’t keep |
Honorific
높임말 · to or about an elder: the -시- forms
| Form | Polite | Formal |
|---|---|---|
| PresentI keep (respectfully) | ||
| PastI kept (respectfully) | ||
| FutureI will keep (respectfully) |
Connectives
연결 어미 · and, so, if, because, but: joining two sentences
- And (-고) keeping, and…, and…
- So, and then (-아/어서) keeping, and…, so…
- If, when (-(으)면) if I keep
- Because (-(으)니까) because I keep
- But (-지만) I keep, but…
Requests and commands
명령형 · -(으)세요, -(으)십시오, the casual form, -지 마세요
- Please (-(으)세요) please keep
- Formal request (-(으)십시오) please keep (formal)
- Plain command keep! (casual)
- Please don’t please don’t keep
How to use 지키다
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
민준 씨는 약속을 항상 잘 지켜요.
Min-jun always keeps his promises.
-
Past
경찰이 밤새 그 건물을 지켰어요.
The police guarded that building all night.
-
Future
이번에는 꼭 시간을 지킬 거예요.
This time I'll definitely be on time.
-
Honorific
할아버지는 평생 우리 가족을 지키셨어요.
Grandpa protected our family all his life.
-
Connectives
규칙을 지키면 아무 문제 없어요.
If you follow the rules, there's no problem at all.
-
Requests and commands
횡단보도에서는 꼭 신호를 지키세요, 위험해요.
Always obey the signal at the crosswalk, it's dangerous.
Good to know
- 지키다 is to keep a promise or a time (약속을 지키다, 시간을 지키다) and to guard or protect.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: verb.