As a traveler, you need to be able to express what you want in various situations. In Korean, you can simply add -고 싶다 to the stem of the verb, signifying the action that you want to do. Of course, you would have to conjugate “싶다” in different registers and tenses, etc., in daily conversations: If the subject is the first or second person (I, we, you), use (verb stem)-고 싶다:
1. If the subject is the first or second person (I, we, you), use (verb stem)-고 싶다:
- 저 한국에 가고 싶어요 I want to go to Korea [ 가다 to go => 가-고 싶어요 ]
- 나 이제 그만 하고 싶어 I want to stop this now [ 하다 to do => 하-고 싶어 ]
- 너 죽고 싶어? Do you want to die? [ 죽다 to die => 죽-고 싶어 ]
2. If the subject is the third person (he, she, they), use (verb stem)–고 싶어 하다:
- 저 사람은 나가고 싶어 하는군요 That guy wants to go out [ 나가다 to go out => 나가-고 싶어 하다 ]
- 요즘 애들은 한국말 배우고 싶어 해요 Kids these days want to learn Korean [ 배우다 to learn => 배우-고 싶어 하다 ]
As described above, the auxiliary verb 싶다 means “want to, wish to” when added to a verb with -고. But when 싶다 follows a sentence clause, often a question form, it means a totally different thing — a conjecture, a guess, an assumption:
- 오늘은 비가 올까 싶다 I wonder if it will rain today [ 비가 올까 “will it rain?” – a sentence + 싶다 => I wonder, I guess ]
- 왕관까지 줄 필요가 있나 싶어요 I wonder if it is necessary to give him a crown [ 필요가 있나 “Is it necessary?” – sentence + 싶어요 => I wonder if …, I am not so sure that … ]
Level A2: In the poem “너에게,” the poet expresses four wishes using -고 싶다 in the past tense. What are they? Please practice typing in 한글 yourself instead of copying and pasting.
Level B1: Review the grammar in Quiz 89 for conjugating verbs in the normal polite register with -요.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/monobilityquiz/permalink/1935483937351914
Apply the rule and conjugate the past tense verb 싶었다 in the above four lines so that they can sound like in a daily conversation ending with -요.
Monobility® Group
