✍️ Intermediate Day 24: Quoting Commands – ~라고 해요 / ~지 말라고 해요

📘 Intermediate Day 24: Quoting Commands – ~라고 해요 / ~지 말라고 해요

Welcome to Day 24 of the Intermediate Korean series! 🎯 Today we’ll complete our indirect speech series by learning how to quote commands and requests in Korean using:

  • ~라고 해요 – "(They) told (someone) to..."
  • ~지 말라고 해요 – "(They) told (someone) not to..."

This grammar is used when you want to report what someone told someone else to do or not to do. It’s especially useful for conversations, storytelling, or even translating!


📘 1. What is ~라고 해요?

~라고 해요 is used to report positive commands or requests.

🔧 How to Use:

  • Verb stem + ~(으)라고 해요

Examples:

  • 엄마가 숙제하라고 했어요.
    eom-ma-ga suk-je-ha-ra-go haet-seo-yo
    👉 Mom told me to do homework.
  • 선생님이 조용히 하라고 해요.
    seon-saeng-nim-i jo-yong-hi ha-ra-go hae-yo
    👉 The teacher says to be quiet.
  • 친구가 기다리라고 했어요.
    chin-gu-ga gi-da-ri-ra-go haet-seo-yo
    👉 My friend told me to wait.

📘 2. What is ~지 말라고 해요?

~지 말라고 해요 is used for negative commands – telling someone not to do something.

🔧 How to Use:

  • Verb stem + ~지 말라고 해요

Examples:

  • 선생님이 떠들지 말라고 했어요.
    seon-saeng-nim-i tteo-deul-ji mal-la-go haet-seo-yo
    👉 The teacher told us not to make noise.
  • 친구가 늦지 말라고 했어요.
    chin-gu-ga neut-ji mal-la-go haet-seo-yo
    👉 My friend told me not to be late.
  • 부모님이 게임 너무 많이 하지 말라고 했어요.
    bu-mo-nim-i ge-im neo-mu ma-ni ha-ji mal-la-go haet-seo-yo
    👉 My parents told me not to play games too much.

📌 Comparison Table – Quoting Commands

Expression Structure Example Meaning
Positive command Verb + (으)라고 해요 공부하라고 해요 (They) told (someone) to study
Negative command Verb + 지 말라고 해요 가지 말라고 해요 (They) told (someone) not to go

💬 Real-Life Dialogue

👧 수지: 민지가 뭐라고 했어요?
👦 준호: 내일 일찍 오라고 했어요.
👧 수지: 그리고 늦지 말라고도 했죠?


📘 Practice Sentences

  • 의사 선생님이 물 많이 마시라고 했어요.
  • 친구가 너무 걱정하지 말라고 했어요.
  • 엄마가 방 청소하라고 했어요.
  • 선생님이 휴대폰 사용하지 말라고 했어요.

🧪 Mini Quiz – Reported Commands

  1. Translate: “Dad told me to clean my room.”
    Click to Show Answer

    아빠가 방 청소하라고 했어요.

  2. Translate: “The teacher said not to talk.”
    Click to Show Answer

    선생님이 말하지 말라고 했어요.

  3. Choose the correct form:
    a) 조용히 하지 말라 해요
    b) 조용히 하지 말라고 해요
    c) 조용히 말라고 해요
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ b) 조용히 하지 말라고 해요


✅ Conclusion

👏 Fantastic! You’ve now mastered how to report commands and requests in Korean.

  • ✔️ Use ~라고 해요 for positive commands
  • ✔️ Use ~지 말라고 해요 for negative commands
  • ✔️ Helpful for conversations, translating, and storytelling!


📘 Coming Up Next

Tomorrow: Intermediate Day 25: Expressing Contrast – ~더라도 We’ll learn how to say “Even if…” or “Although…” in Korean!

Related Keywords:
learn korean, korean grammar, reported commands, indirect speech, 라고 해요, 지 말라고 해요, korean indirect expression