Lesson 19
You have already learned that -(이)라고 is used after nouns or direct speech, and that -(ㄴ/는)다고 is used after verbs when quoting what something is called or what someone said. In this lesson, you will take a closer look at -(으)라고 and how it is used in the structure “verb + -(으)라고 + verb” to quote imperative statements (instructions or commands).
Conjugation
Verb stems ending with a vowel + -라고 + 하다/말하다/쓰다/듣다/etc.
Verb stems ending with a last consonant + -으라고 + 하다/말하다/쓰다/듣다/etc.
Take a look at some examples:
보다 (= to see) → 보라고 하다 = to tell (someone) to look at (something)
먹다 (= to eat) → 먹으라고 말하다 = to tell (someone) to eat (something)
앉다 (= to sit) → 앉으라고 하다 = to tell (someone) to sit down
When quoting imperative statements, use -(으)라고, not -(ㄴ/는)다고.
Sample Sentences
조용히 하라고 말해 주세요.
= Please tell them/him/her to be quiet.
걱정하지 말라고 했어요.
= They told me not to worry.
= I told them not to worry.
누가 가라고 했어요?
= Who told you/her/him/them to go?
어디로 오라고 했어요?
= Where did they ask you to go?
= Where did you ask them to go?
* 오다 is often translated as “to come” in English, but it does not always make sense to English speakers this way. In English, deciding whether to use “to go” or “to come” is based on the listener’s perspective, but in Korean, “to come” or “to go” is decided from the speaker’s perspective. Therefore, in this case, someone probably told this person “Hey, come to OOO”, and the person is just quoting what he/she was told, which is why it is 오다 instead of 가다.
주연 씨한테 주라고 했어요.
= They told me to give this to Jooyeon.
= I told them to give that to Jooyeon.