Auxiliary verbs III (~어/아 주다, ~어/아 놓다, ~어/아 두다)

~어/아 주다

The verb 주다 means “give”, as shown in the following examples:

However, as an auxiliary verb, ~어/아 주다 means “do something as a
favor (for someone)”.

Compare the following two sentences:

Notice that the first sentence simply expresses that David came to the party. On the other hand, the second sentence signifies that David came to the party for the benefit of the speaker or somebody. Here are more examples:

However, one can optionally use 위해서(on the behalf of) when wishing to explicitly state who the beneficiary was.

~어/아 드리다 vs. ~어/아 주다

Meanwhile, if the beneficiary of the action is an esteemed person, ~어/아 드리다 is used instead of ~어/아 주다. Compare the following two sentences:

The second sentence with ~어/아 주다 is inappropriate since the beneficiary of the action is an esteemed person. Here are more examples:

Requesting ~어/아 주세요

The verb 주시다 is the honorific form of 주다. ~어/아 주세요 is used when requesting something politely. It is equivalent to “please do (something for me/someone)”. Compare the following two sentences:

Both sentences can be used for requesting. However, the second sentence with ~어/아 주세요 is more polite than the first sentence. Here are more examples:

~어/아 놓다(or ~어/아 두다)

The verb 놓다 means “release/place/put down”, as in:

However, as an auxiliary verb, what ~어/아 놓다 can express is twofold. First, ~어/아 놓다 is used to indicate the continuation of a certain action or state after the completion of the action or state. For instance, compare the following sentences:

The verb 켜다 means “turns on (an electric lamp)”. Notice that the action of the main verb 켜다 is completed for both sentences, since they are marked by the past tense. However, while the first sentence simply indicates the past action, the second sentence with the auxiliary verb ~어/아 놓다 indicates the continuation of the completed action. Here are more examples:

Second, ~어/아 놓다 means “doing something for later (future use)”. Compare the following two sentences:

Notice that the first sentence simply indicates the past action, 마셨어요(drank). However, the auxiliary verb ~어/아 놓다 in the second sentence indicates that the past action was done for later. Here are more examples:

Alternatively, the verb 두다 can be used instead of 놓다. The verb 두다 means “place/keep”, as shown in the following examples:

As an auxiliary verb, the meaning of ~어/아 두다 is similar to that of ~어/아 놓다. In fact ~어/아 두다 and ~어/아 놓다 can be used interchangeably, as shown below:

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Grammar for Intermediates
Irregular verbs and adjectives (불규칙동사와 형용사)
Auxiliary verbs I
Auxiliary verbs II
Auxiliary verbs III
Auxiliary verbs IV

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Auxiliary verbs II (~어/아 내다, ~어/아 버리다, ~고 말다)

~어/아 내다

The verb 내다 means “produce/put forth” as in 용기를 내세요(Put forth courage) or 속도를 내세요(Speed up, lit. Produce speed). However, as an auxiliary verb, ~어/아 내다 means “do all the way (to the very end)”. It is used to express that although a certain task/action is troublesome or difficult, he/she completes the action to the very end (or does all the way). Compare the following two examples:

Notice that the first sentence simply indicates that the speaker finished reading the book in one day. On the other hand, the second sentence with ~어/아 내다 implies that although reading the book within a day was a difficult task, the speaker did it anyway. Here are more examples:

~어/아 버리다

The verb 버리다 means “throw (it) away/dismiss/abandon”, as shown in the following examples:

However, as an auxiliary verb ~어/아 버리다 means “do completely/end up doing/get (it) done”. Compare the following sentences:

The basic meanings of both sentences are the same. However, the message of the second sentence is stronger than the first sentence, since ~어/아 버리다 adds the meaning of “completeness of the action”.
~어/아 버리다 is similar to ~어/아 내다 in a sense that both are used to indicate the completeness of an action. However, unlike ~어/아 내다, ~어/아 버리다 does not imply that the completed action was a difficult task. Instead, depending on the context, ~어/아 버리다 is used to express a sense of regret or relief. Consider the following examples:

Losing a wallet is undesirable. Consequently, ~어/아 버리다 in the second sentence adds the sense of regret, while the first sentence simply states the past action. It indicates that losing a wallet is not what the speaker had expected or wished for. Here are more examples that may denote a sense of regret:

~어/아 버리다 can also signify a sense of relief. Consider the following two sentences:

Notice that the referential messages of both sentences are the same. However, ~어/아 버리다 in the second sentence adds a sense of relief since the task has come to an end. Here are more examples that indicate a sense of relief:

~고 말다

The verb 말다 means “stop”, as in 눈이 오다가 말았어요(It snowed but then it stopped). However, as an auxiliary verb, ~고 말다 means “end up (doing)”, and it implies that the completed action is against the subject’s intention or wish. It is used when the action is carried out despite the subject’s previous effort or wishes against the completed action. Compare the following two sentences:

Notice that the completed action (dying) is against the subject’s will. Here are more examples:

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Grammar for Intermediates
Irregular verbs and adjectives (불규칙동사와 형용사)
Auxiliary verbs I
Auxiliary verbs II
Auxiliary verbs III
Auxiliary verbs IV

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Auxiliary verbs I (~어/아 보다, ~ 어/아 오다, ~ 어/아 가다)

An auxiliary verb combines with a main verb to express tense, aspect, mood and/or voice. For instance, English auxiliary verbs include “can”, “have”, “may”, “shall”, and “will”, since they combine with a main verb, as in “I can speak Korean.” This unit first discusses some general structural characteristics of Korean auxiliary verbs. Then, it introduces how the following three verbs, 보다(see), 오다(come), and 가다(go), can serve as auxiliary verbs.

Korean auxiliary verbs

Korean auxiliary verbs are in fact all regular verbs. However, when these verbs are used as auxiliary verbs, they express different meanings, as shown below:

Korean auxiliary verbs always appear after the main verb (or adjectives for limited auxiliary verbs). In addition, the main verb is always conjugated with ~어/아 (or ~고 for limited auxiliary verbs). The compounding process takes the following pattern: [stem of the main verb ~어/아 plus an auxiliary verb]. ~아 is used after the stem that ends in 아 or 오, while ~어 is used after the stem that ends in all other vowels.

~어/아 보다

When the verb 보다(see) is used as an auxiliary verb, it is used to express “try (doing something)/experience”. It is used when a speaker tries doing some action just once so that he/she can explore the consequences. For instance, consider how the auxiliary verb ~어/아 보다 is used with the main verb 배우다(learn).

Notice in the examples above that ~어/아 보다 completes each expression and carries all grammatical information, such as tense, sentence types, and honorifics. Here are more examples:

~ 어/아 오다(가다)

Korean has two motion verbs 오다(come) and 가다(go). When these motion verbs are used as auxiliary verbs, both indicate that an action of the main verb is carried out continually. Since 오다(come) signifies the motion toward the speaker, ~어/아 오다 is used to express an continuous action that comes toward the present, as shown below:

On the other hand, 가다(go) indicates the motion away from the speaker. Consequently, ~어/아 가다 is used to express a continuous action that goes into the future.

* Click to read related posts.
Grammar for Intermediates
Irregular verbs and adjectives (불규칙동사와 형용사)
Auxiliary verbs I
Auxiliary verbs II
Auxiliary verbs III
Auxiliary verbs IV

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