Breakdown of oneul toegeunhago mateue gaseo jangbol geoya.
Questions & Answers about oneul toegeunhago mateue gaseo jangbol geoya.
Korean often omits the subject when it’s obvious from context. In everyday speech, (나는) is frequently dropped because the listener can infer who is talking. You could add it for clarity or emphasis:
- 나는 오늘 퇴근하고 마트에 가서 장볼 거야. (I’m going to…)
퇴근하다 = to get off work / leave work (for the day).
퇴근하고 uses -고 / -하고 to connect actions, similar to and:
- 퇴근하고 = (I) get off work and…
It’s a natural, casual way to link the next action.
Not exactly.
- 퇴근하고: simply links actions; the sequence is understood but can feel looser.
- 퇴근하고 나서: explicitly means after getting off work, emphasizing that Action 2 happens afterward.
So:
- 퇴근하고 마트에 가서… = “Get off work and go to the mart…”
- 퇴근하고 나서 마트에 가서… = “After getting off work, go to the mart…”
Both can be used, but the nuance differs:
- 마트에 가다 focuses on the destination/place you go to (to the mart, arriving there).
- 마트로 가다 emphasizes direction (toward the mart / by way of the mart), often used when contrasting routes or directions.
In everyday “go to a place” sentences, -에 가다 is most common.
가서 is 가다 + -아서/어서 (since 가다 is special: 가서). It means go and then (as a result/sequence) do the next action.
- 마트에 가서 장보다 = go to the mart and (there) buy groceries
가고 just lists actions more neutrally:
- 마트에 가고 장볼 거야 = “I’ll go to the mart and I’ll shop,” but it’s less “go there and then do it there.”
So 가서 strongly implies the shopping happens after going (and typically at that location).
It comes from the verb 장보다, meaning to do grocery shopping / buy groceries (literally to see the market in older usage).
Here 장볼 is the verb stem 장보- + future/attributive form -ㄹ used before 거야:
- 장볼 거야 = “(I’m) going to grocery shop.”
You may also see it written as 장 볼 거야, but 장볼 거야 is very common in casual writing.
Both are correct.
- 장을 보다 is the “full” form (with the object 장
- particle -을).
- 장보다 is a very common “combined” verb meaning grocery shop, so speakers often say 장볼 거야.
In casual speech, the combined form is especially natural.
거야 is a casual contraction of 것이야 (from 것 + 이다). In this pattern, -(으)ㄹ 거야 expresses a future plan or intention:
- 장볼 거야 = I’m going to shop (I plan to).
More polite equivalents:
- 장볼 거예요.
- 장을 볼 거예요.
-(으)ㄹ 거야 usually expresses intention/plan or a strong guess depending on context.
In this sentence, with a clear action plan, it’s the plan/intention meaning:
- “I’m going to (after work) go to the mart and shop.”
If context changed, -(으)ㄹ 거야 can also sound like prediction:
- 비 올 거야. = “It’ll probably rain.”
Yes, 오늘 can move depending on what you want to emphasize, and Korean word order is flexible:
- 오늘 퇴근하고… (Today is the overall time frame)
- 퇴근하고 오늘 마트에 가서… (Slight emphasis that it’s today, not another day)
Putting 오늘 first is very natural for setting the scene.
Yes. 마트 is a very common loanword meaning mart/store, often implying a supermarket or big store. Alternatives depending on nuance:
- 슈퍼(마켓): supermarket (often smaller neighborhood store = 슈퍼)
- 시장: traditional market
- 편의점: convenience store (not the same as grocery shopping, but possible for small items)
This is casual/informal speech (…거야), used with friends, close coworkers, family, etc.
Polite version:
- 오늘 퇴근하고 마트에 가서 장볼 거예요. More formal (less common in daily conversation unless needed):
- 오늘 퇴근한 뒤에 마트에 가서 장을 볼 겁니다.