When we go somewhere we have a reason to go. For example, I often go to stores to buy groceries. You may go to a library to read some books. In this lesson, you will learn how to show the "reason" or "purpose" of why you go to that place.
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1. V(으)러 Grammar
What is (으)러?
(으)러 is attached to a verb stem to show the reason why you go to a place. You can translate it as "in order to" or "to" in English. Check out the meaning.
밥을 먹으러 식당에 가요. I go to a restaurant to eat a meal.
책을 읽으러 도서관에 가요. I go to a library to read a book.
(으)러 connects two sentences(verbs) and makes them into one while adding the meaning of "purpose of going." Let's break down the examples I showed you above. It connects two verbs. That is why it is called a connective ending.
1. 밥을 먹으러 식당에 가요. I go to a restaurant to eat a meal.
=밥을 먹다 (eat a meal) + 식당에 가다 (go to a restaurant)
2. 책을 읽으러 도서관에 가요. I go to a library to read a book.
=책을 읽다 (read a book) + 도서관에 가다 (go to a library)
The verbs you can use with
You know, this ending is to show why you go somewhere. That means you must use a verb that includes actions like "go" or "come." You'll use these movement verbs at the end of the sentence. Here are some verbs you can use.
Korean Word | Meaning |
to go | |
to come | |
to go and come, to attend, to commute | |
to go up | |
to go down | |
to go out | |
to go in |
Some combination words came from 가다 or 오다. You can replace 가다 above with 오다 and you will mean come up, come out, etc. 다니다 is a common word in daily life. When you go somewhere that you will come back, then you can use 다니다. It can be translated differently depending on the situation. If you say "회사에 다니다," you go to a company and come back home, so it can even mean you work or you have a job.
Watch out!
Here is one important fact for you. Take a look at the two examples below. The top one is right, but the bottom one is wrong in Korean.
(O) 공부하러 도서관에 가요. I go to the library to study.
(X) 공부하러 책을 사요. I buy a book to study.
In English, there is no issue. But why can we only use the top one? Can you tell me why the second example is wrong? It is because you use the "(으)러". This grammar can only be used to show why you go or come there.
So you can only use the verbs that have the meaning of "move". 사다 means "to buy" and it doesn't have the meaning of "go". If you want to say "I bought a book to study," you have to use a different grammar! You will learn about that in the future. For now, please just know that you can only use this "(으)러" with movement verbs!
2. Conjugation Information
As I mentioned above, (으)러 only can be attached to a verb! Here are some verb conjugation rules for you. You have to pay attention to the verb stem's final consonant(받침)!
Regular conjugation Rules
When the final consonant is a matter of conjugation, how many rules are there? Yes, there are three basic regular rules! First, take a look at the chart. I also prepared the details for each rule for you!
받침 O | 으러 | 받침 X | 러 | ㄹ 받침 | 러 |
먹다 eat | 먹으러 | 사다 buy | 사러 | 놀다 play | 놀러 |
읽다 read | 읽으러 | 쓰다 use, write | 쓰러 | 만들다 make | 만들러 |
찾다 find | 찾으러 | 공부하다 study | 공부하러 | 살다 live | 살러 |
1) 받침 O: +으러
When the stem ends with the final consonant, you will add 으러. For example, think about the word 먹다. The stem of this word is 먹. It has the final consonant! So, you simply attach 으러 to it now and make 먹으러.
2) 받침 X: +러
When there is no final consonant at the end, please use 러. Here is how. Think about the word 쓰다. The stem of it is 쓰. Does it have the 받침? No. That is why you need to add 러 to it and make 쓰러.
3) ㄹ 받침: +러
Even though a verb ends with the final consonant if it is ㄹ, you have to follow this rule. Nothing to erase from this rule. Just simply add 러 to the stem. For example, take a look at the word 만들다. The stem is 만들. We always have to look at the last syllable. What is it? Yes, it is 들. The final consonant of 들 is ㄹ. That's why we add 러 and make 만들러.
Irregular Conjugation Rules
When you have to worry about conjugation, there'll be always your friends with you. They are the irregular words! (I know. They are more enemies than friends, but hey, let's think positively!) Since you can only use a verb with (으)러 grammar, I'll show you irregular ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅂ. First, take your time and check the charts. If you need more explanation, I got your back!
ㄷ 받침 | ㄷ→ ㄹ +으러 | ㅅ 받침 | Erase ㅅ + 으러 | ㅂ받침 | Erase ㅂ+ 우러 |
듣다 listen | 들으러 | 잇다 connect | 이으러 | 돕다 help | 도우러 |
걷다 walk | 걸으러 | 낫다 heal | 나으러 | 줍다 pick up | 주우러 |
1) ㄷ 받침: ㄷ→ ㄹ +으러
Think about the situation where the stem ends with ㄷ and it is an irregular verb. Then you have to change that ㄷ to ㄹ first. As you notice, it is a pretty repetitive rule! Add 으러 after that.
Some verbs have the ㄷ but still follow the regular rules! That is why we call these special ones irregular verbs! In the case of the representative irregular ㄷ verb 걷다, the stem is 걷. Always change that ㄷ to ㄹ and make 걸. Then, please attach 으러 to it. So if you go to a park to walk, you can use the form 걸으러.
2) ㅅ 받침: Erase ㅅ + 으러
When the verb stem has ㅅ at the end, you must eliminate that ㅅ. Then, you can attach 으러 to the left stem. For example, if you go abroad to build a new building, you can start to use the word 짓다(build).
The stem of this word is 짓. It ends with the final consonant ㅅ, right? So, we must get rid of that first and only leave 지. Even though we don't have the final consonant anymore, it originally had one! That is why we attach 으러 to it! 짓다 at the end becomes 지으러.
3) ㅂ 받침: Erase ㅂ + 우러
The ㅂ is always special! You have to erase ㅂ but this time please add 우러 not 으러. That one small line can change a big thing in Korean!
Imagine you have to go to your mother's house to help her. What's "to help" in Korean? Yes, it is 돕다. Now the stem of this word is 돕.
3. Sentence Information
The subject of the sentence
You are talking about why you go to a place. So, when you connect two sentences using (으)러, the subject of the first and second sentences should be the same! Since they are the same, the subject of the second sentence can be omitted.
젠 씨가 공부해요. + 젠 씨가 도서관에 가요.
→ 젠 씨가 공부하러 젠 씨가 도서관에 가요.
→ 젠 씨가 공부하러 도서관에 가요.
젠 씨가 공부하러 앤디 씨가 도서관에 가요. (X) This one is a wrong sentence. You have to match the subject!
About connective endings
Just like you've seen here, sometimes we combine two sentences and make them into one. To connect two sentences, we have to use a grammar part called a "connective ending." You can think of it as 'while', 'and', 'because' in English. A connective ending not only connects two sentences into one but also adds meanings to it as well. For the case of (으)러, it added the meaning of "reason for going".
Technically, it is coming in the middle of the sentence after they combine, but it is the ending of the first sentence and connects the second one. So, it is called the connective ending.
4. Examples
Since you talk about "to go a place" when you use this grammar, you will need to know the place marker 에. The expression "에 가다" shows the destination. I'll show you the examples here. After you read my examples, don't forget to make your own sentences!
1
공부하러 도서관에 가요. I go to the library to study.
책을 빌리러 도서관에 가요. I go to the library to borrow books.
도서관(library)에 자주(often) 가요? If you go to the 도서관, what do you do there? Can you say why you go to the 도서관 in Korean like the examples above?
2
민수 씨는 산책하러 공원에 갔어요. Minsu went to the park to take a walk.
갔어요 came from the verb "가다(go)" and it is the past tense version. 산책하다 is a verb meaning "take a walk" or "stroll". Since the stem is 산책하 and the last syllable is 하 which doesn't have the final consonant, you can add 러 to it.
3
엄마가 우유를 사러 마트에 갔어요. My mom went to the store to buy some milk.
You can see lots of grammatical markers here. 가 is a subject marker that is attached to the subject of the sentence 엄마(mom). 를 is an object marker and it is attached to the object of the sentence 우유(milk). 에 is a place marker and is attached to a place noun 마트(store). Like this, markers are very important parts of Korean grammar.
4
동생이 친구 집에 놀러 갔어요. My younger sibling went to his(her) friend's house to play(hang out).
놀다 means "play" or "hang out." 놀러 가다 is often used as a chunk expression, so you may hear the first version more often in Korean shows or daily conversations.
5
어제 친구를 만나러 시내에 갔어요. Yesterday, I went downtown to meet my friend.
어제 친구를 만나러 갔어요. Yesterday, I went to meet my friend.
Here is one more piece of information for you. You can skip the location like the second example here. When a place is not important information and if you want to focus on the reason you went, you can say the second example!
5. Wrap-up & Worksheets: How to say the purpose of going in the Korean language
In this post, I showed you how to show the purpose of going in Korean. Please review the important facts using the summary below.
A connective ending (으)러 can connect two sentences into one and reveal the reason why you go somewhere.
At the end of a sentence, you can only use a verb that includes "going" or "moving" like 가다, 오다, 다니다.
Depending on the final consonant of the verb stem, you have to choose either 으러 or 러.
Don't forget to download the free PDF worksheets to practice! I prepared two worksheets for you. With the first one, you can practice focusing on the conjugation of each rule! With the second one, you can practice making sentences!
Conjugation practice
Making sentences
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