Breakdown of namjjok bada-e suyeonghareo gago sipeo.
가다gada
to go
바다bada
sea
~에~e
destination particle
수영하다suyeonghada
to swim
Questions & Answers about namjjok bada-e suyeonghareo gago sipeo.
Why is -러 used in 수영하러 instead of -려고 or -기 위해(서)?
-러 is the purpose‐of‐movement marker in Korean. You attach -러 to a verb stem when you want to say “go/come to do [that verb].”
- 수영하러 가다 literally means “go in order to swim.”
- -려고 가다 is not used; -려고 expresses intention (I plan to swim), but you don’t combine it directly with 가다 for “go to do.”
- -기 위해(서) is a more formal, general “for the sake of” or “in order to” construction; you could say 수영하기 위해 바다에 가고 싶어, but it sounds stiff compared to 수영하러 가고 싶어 in everyday speech.
What does the particle -에 after 바다 indicate here? Could we use -으로 or -에서 instead?
In 남쪽 바다에, -에 marks the destination of 가다 (“go to”).
- -으로/로 often indicates direction or means (“toward” or “by”), but for a clear destination you use -에.
- -에서 marks the location where an action happens or the starting point (“at” or “from”), so 바다에서 수영하다 means “swim in the sea,” but you wouldn’t say 바다에서 가다 for “go to the sea.”
Why is there no subject like “I” (저는) in this sentence?
Korean often drops the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, the speaker’s desire is obvious, so 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어 implicitly means “I want to go…” If you need to specify, you can add 나는 or 저는 at the start: 저는 남쪽 바다에 수영하러 가고 싶어요.