"What does he go to school for?"
Translation:그는 무엇을 하러 학교에 갑니까?
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I had a ton of trouble with this sentence. Can someone break down the reason for this sentence order?
The -러 is probably the hard part. You add that to a verb to show a purpose for doing something. 바나나를 사러 시장에 가 = in order to buy bananas, I'm going to the market. 각성 좀 하러 달리기를 해 = I'm going for a run (in order) to wake myself up.
As far as this sentence, it literally says "He, what in order to do, to school goes?" 무엇을 하러 - in order to do something. 무엇을 하러 갑니까? - what is he going for? / He is going in order to do what?
it would not. he is going to school in order to do something. 그는 무엇을 하러 학교에 갑니까? is "he, in order to do what, is going to school?" so, it has to be 하러. 하다 means to do, and putting ~러 at the end of the stem indicates that the subject of the sentence is going to do blank in order to do (하다) something. the verb for to go, 가다, is at the end of the sentence. it's really confusing but it'll make sense if you try to break down the sentence structure and each word more. i explained that really badly but i hope it helped nonetheless :)
It depends on your first language. Since, most of the asian languages use these kinda orders, it may be easy to follow if you're an asian.
I think you are saying it's easier to understand if a person already knows another similar language. Just like Italian is easier for me because I know Spanish and some latin.
You're right! Everything in Korean makes sense to me since i speak hindi. It's just too similar even the sentence structure.
I know right , I mean all i have to do is first translate the english sentence in hindi and then translate to korean accordinglly . It seems easy
It's because "무엇을" is the proper written form. "뭘" is spoken, but it's written as "무엇을".
For all the fluent english speakers out there, are "What does he go to school for?" and "Why does he go to school?" the same? If they are, then "그는 왜 학교에 갑니까?" must be the right answer... Because, the korean translation above, literally means "What does he do going to school?"
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Your What for? and Why? sentence questions can mean the same thing but your Korean translation is asking what he is doing on the way to school and the original translation implies or asks what he does after reaching the school.
Oh, thank you! The English translation actually also sounds a bit peevish or condescending since it is written colloquially, and colloquial expression meanings depend heavily on tone and context. ("What does the student do after he arrives at school?" This is a much more straightforward and clear question.)
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"Why does he go to school?" could be answered, "only because the requires him to go," or "Because his parents force him to go." "What does he go to school for?" could be answered, "to learn to be a doctor," "to get a diploma so that he can get a job." That sentence seems to be asking "for what?" or "to get what?"
In English, we sometimes use "why" and "what for" or "for what" to ask why something is done. Another is "for what reason".
"그는 왜 힉교에 갑니까?". Maybe: Why does he go to school? Google translate said that, too.
Choices of words in the mobile app for translating into Korean are limited to what is on the word tiles. I alternate to Duolingo online to challenge my Korean spelling.
The verb in the sentence that relates to 학교에 is 갑니까 which comes after.
~(으)러
= for the purpose of/in order to
~(으)러 should be used when one is going to or coming from a place in order to do something. This usually means that the predicating verb of the whole sentence should be either 가다 or 오다, but other variations of those verbs are also acceptable (for example: 내려가다, to go down; 내려오다, to come down; 들어가다, to go in; 들어오다, to come in).
~으러 is used for verbs that end in a consonant and ~러 is used for verbs that en in a vowel.
- 밥을 먹으러 왔어요
- 친구를 만나러 가고 있어요
- 수영하러 수영장에 가고 싶어요
~(으)려고 (you didn't ask for this one, but it's quite similar to ~(으)러 so I might as well)
= with the intention of/in order to
~으려고 is used for verbs that end in a consonant and ~려고 is used for verbs that en in a vowel.
- 저는 빵을 사려고 시장에 갔어요
-
I went to the market (with the intention) to buy bread.
-
신발을 신으려고 잠깐 얹았어요
- I sat down for a moment (with the intention) to put on my shoes.
The biggest difference between ~(으)러 and ~(으)려고 is that ~(으)려고 can replace ~(으)러 but not the other way around. This is because ~(으)러 is only used when you are coming or going somewhere in order to do something.
- 저는 사과를 사러 시장에 갔어요 (O)
- 저는 사과를 사려고 시장에 갔어요 (O)
- 저는 신발을 신으러 잠간 앉았어요 (X)
- 저는 신발을 신으려고 잠깐 안잤어요 (O)
위하다/위해/위해서
위하다 means "to make an effort for something/someone" or "to do something to benefit someone."
It is rarely used and changed to 위해/위해서 to mean "in order to" "in order for" or "for the sake of."
위해(서) is shortened from the original conjugation 위하여(서) so you will sometimes see 위하여, but it means the same thing.
noun + 을/를 위해(서)
= in order for/for the sake of + noun
- 건강을 위해(서) = for the sake of health/for health
- 엄마를 위해(서) = for the sake of mom/for mom -너를 위해(서) = for your own sake
verb stem + ~기 위해(서)
= in order to/for the sake of + verb stem
- 한국에 가기 위해(서) = in order to go to Korea/for the sake of going to Korea
- 영어를 배우기 위해(서) = in order to learn English/for the sake of learning English
Here are 2 full example sentences using both the form with the noun and the form with the verb stem :
- 건강을 위해서 매일 운동해요
-
I exercise everyday for my health
-
한국에 가기 위해서 열심히 공부했어요
- I studied hard in order to go to Korea
Using 위해(서) will make you sound very formal.
Just a quick doubt, why does it say I should use "학교에" instead of "학교로"? :)
I just commented this above. You might find it helpful:
하 is the verb stem of 하다 (to do), so 하라 is "in order to do" and 무엇을 (what) is the direct object of to do. So 무엇을 하라 means "in order to do what?" and the sentence translates to "He goes to school in order to do what?" (which in colloquial English would be "What does he go to school for?").
하러 comes from the verb 하다 (to do/speak) and ~러 which, at the end of a verb stem, means “in order to do (that verb)”. so, 하러 is basically “in order to do”
There is no good translation into English for this sentence, but perhaps a less confusing translation would be "what does he go to school to do?" Or even better, although more formal, "he goes to school in order to do what?" "What does he go to school for?" could also mean "why does he go to school (at all)?". It does sound like they want to use the word "for" because it is the closest translation to "러" but "to/in order to" would make it a lot clearer for English natives.