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Questions & Answers about naeil jibe gayo.
What part of speech is 내일 and how is it used in 내일 집에 가요?
내일 is a noun meaning “tomorrow,” but in this sentence it functions adverbially to indicate time. In Korean, you can place a time‐expressing noun directly before the verb (or before the rest of the sentence) without adding a particle, and it automatically tells you when the action happens.
What does the particle -에 indicate in 집에 가요?
Here, -에 is the location/direction marker. When you attach -에 to a place noun like 집, it means “to (that place).” So 집에 가요 literally means “go to home.”
Why is 가요 in the present tense even though the action happens in the future?
Korean present tense can express near future actions when you specify a future time (like 내일). Grammatically it’s still the present form, but context tells the listener you’re talking about a future event.
What politeness level does the ending -아요/어요 in 가요 convey?
The ending -아요/어요 (here -아요 because 가다 has the vowel ㅏ) is the polite-informal level (also called “standard polite”). You use it with acquaintances, colleagues, strangers, or anyone you want to show respect to without sounding overly formal.
Why is there no subject in this sentence? Who is doing the action?
Korean often omits the subject when it’s clear from context. In isolation you might assume the speaker is talking about themselves, so the implied subject is I (저 or 나). If you needed to be explicit, you could say 내일 제가 집에 가요 or 내일 나는 집에 가요, but it’s redundant if the listener already knows who you’re talking about.
Could I say 내일 집에 갈 거예요 instead? What changes?
Yes. 내일 집에 갈 거예요 uses the future construction -ㄹ 거예요, which literally means “will go.” It’s also polite-informal, but you’re marking the future more explicitly. Both sentences are natural; 가요 simply relies on context for the future meaning, while 갈 거예요 spells it out.
When would I use 집으로 가요 instead of 집에 가요?
-으로/로 also marks direction (“toward”), but it often emphasizes the route or method. 집으로 가요 can suggest “heading toward home (perhaps along a specific path).” In everyday speech, 집에 가요 is more common for simply saying “I’m going home.” Use -으로 when you want to stress “to that place as a destination via that direction.”