-(으)ㄹ 거예요 (Conjecture)
Used to express the speaker's supposition or guess about a current or future state/action. It is less certain than fact, but is a fairly confident guess.
Summary
Equivalent
I think / Probably / Will probably
Also: -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 (Seems like)
Example
The weather will probably be cold tomorrow.
내일은 날씨가 추울 거예요.
Grammar rules
- When the subject is first person ('I'), it means future intention.
- When the subject is third person ('He/She/It'), it means conjecture.
- Can be used with past tense markers (았/었을 거예요) to guess about something that already happened.
지금쯤 친구가 집에 도착했을 거예요. (My friend has probably arrived home by now.)
Patterns
Verbs/Adjectives (Consonant)
Present/Future Conjecture · Stem + 을 거예요
Verbs/Adjectives (Vowel/ㄹ)
Present/Future Conjecture · Stem (drop ㄹ) + ㄹ 거예요
Nouns
Present Conjecture · Noun + 일 거예요
Example sentences
The weather will probably be cold tomorrow.
내일은 날씨가 추울 거예요.
My parents are probably sleeping right now.
지금쯤 부모님은 주무실 거예요.
Sumi is probably at the library now.
수미 씨는 지금 도서관에 있을 거예요.
Conversation
A: Do you think it will rain today?
오늘 비가 올까요?
B: The sky is clear, so it probably won't rain.
하늘이 맑아서 비가 오지 않을 거예요.
Practice
Fill in the blank
Select the correct form of probable conjecture.
Waiting.
Finding a location.