V+자

Overview

The Korean sentence ending -자 (or -ㅂ시다/-읍시다 for politeness) is a versatile grammatical tool primarily used to propose a joint action or to indicate that one action happens immediately after another. It's an informal and direct way to suggest something to a listener who is typically a peer or someone younger.

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Usage

1. Suggestion/Proposal The most common use of -자 is to make a suggestion or proposal for a joint action. It's equivalent to 'Let's...' or 'Shall we...?' in English. This form is typically used in informal settings with friends, family, or people of similar or lower social status. For polite suggestions, -ㅂ시다/-읍시다 is used instead.

2. Simultaneous/Immediate Action Less commonly, -자 can also indicate that an action in the main clause occurs immediately after the action described by the verb to which -자 is attached. This often implies a cause-and-effect or a very close temporal sequence, meaning 'as soon as' or 'no sooner... than...'. In this usage, the subject of the -자 clause is usually different from the subject of the main clause.

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Conjugation Rules

The ending -자 is straightforward to conjugate. It attaches directly to the verb stem, regardless of whether the stem ends in a consonant or a vowel.

Verb Stem + -자

• 가다 (to go) -> 가 + 자 = 가자 (Let's go)
• 먹다 (to eat) -> 먹 + 자 = 먹자 (Let's eat)
• 하다 (to do) -> 하 + 자 = 하자 (Let's do)
• 읽다 (to read) -> 읽 + 자 = 읽자 (Let's read)

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Knowledge Plus

• Politeness Level: Remember that -자 is an informal ending. For polite suggestions, use -ㅂ시다 (for verb stems ending in a vowel or 'ㄹ') or -읍시다 (for verb stems ending in a consonant other than 'ㄹ').
• Subject: When used for suggestion, the subject is usually '우리' (we) or implied 'we'.
• Common Phrases: Some common expressions include '자자' (Let's sleep), '가자' (Let's go), '먹자' (Let's eat), '하자' (Let's do it).
• Distinction from -고 나서: While both can express sequence, -자 emphasizes immediacy and often a reaction, whereas -고 나서 simply states one action after another.