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Easy Korean - Level 6, Unit 15: Quoting Commands (-(으)라고 하다)

We have covered quoting statements, questions, and suggestions. The final type of quoted speech is for commands or requests: "He told me to..." or "She told me to..."

To quote a command, we use -(으)라고 하다.

How to Conjugate

1. Verb stem ends in a VOWEL: Add -라고 하다 * 가다 -> 가라고 하다 (Told to go) * 보다 -> 보라고 하다 (Told to look)

2. Verb stem ends in a CONSONANT: Add -으라고 하다 * 먹다 -> 먹으라고 하다 (Told to eat) * 앉다 -> 앉으라고 하다 (Told to sit)

3. Verb stem ends in ㄹ: Add -라고 하다 * 만들다 -> 만들라고 하다 (Told to make)

Shortened Conversational Form

In spoken Korean, "-(으)라고 해요" is shortened to -(으)래요. * 빨리 가라고 해요 -> 빨리 가래요. (She told me to go quickly.) * 앉으라고 해요 -> 앉으래요. (He told me to sit.)

Quoting Negative Commands (-지 말라고 하다)

If someone tells you not to do something, use -지 말다. * 가지 말라고 하다 -> 가지 말래요. (He told me not to go.)

Special Case: 주다 (To Give)

When quoting "give it to me" or "give it to someone else," Korean makes a distinction. * 달라고 하다: When the speaker asked you to give it to them. * (He said: "Give it to me") -> 나한테 달라고 했어요 (He told me to give it to him). * 주라고 하다: When the speaker asked you to give it to a third person. * (He said: "Give it to Jim") -> 짐한테 주라고 했어요 (He told me to give it to Jim).

Example Sentences

  1. 의사 선생님이 약을 매일 먹으라고 하셨어요. (The doctor told me to take the medicine every day.)
  2. 엄마가 일찍 자래요. (Mom told me to sleep early.)
  3. 친구가 저한테 돈을 빌려 달래요. (My friend told me to lend him money.)