Middle School - Grade 7
Lesson 10: "In order to..."
-(으)려고
Expressing Your Purpose
This grammar point states the **purpose** or **intention** behind an action. It answers the question "Why did you do that?" with your goal.
You learned `-(으)러 가다` (Lesson E4-4) which is also "in order to," but it's **only** used with movement verbs like "go" (가다) and "come" (오다).
**-(으)려고** is more general and can be used with *any* verb to state your intention for the *next* action.
The Conjugation Rules
This attaches to action verb stems.
Stem ends in Vowel or ㄹ
... + 려고
가다 가려고
"In order to go..."
만들다 만들려고 (ㄹ stays!)
"In order to make..."
Stem ends in Consonant (except ㄹ)
... + 으려고
먹다 먹으려고
"In order to eat..."
찾다 찾으려고
"In order to find..."
Examples in Action
PURPOSE + ACTION
한국어를 배우려고 한국에 왔어요.
I came to Korea in order to learn Korean.
PURPOSE + ACTION
살을 빼려고 매일 운동해요.
I exercise every day in order to lose weight.
(Note: 살을 빼다 = to lose weight)
Key Difference: `-(으)려고` vs. `-(으)러`
(Correct) 밥을 먹으러 가요. (Movement verb)
(Correct) 밥을 먹으려고 가요. (Movement verb)
Both are OK when the main verb is "go" or "come".
(Correct) 한국어를 배우려고 공부해요.
(Incorrect) 한국어를 배우러 공부해요. (X)
**This is wrong!** `공부하다` (to study) is not a movement verb, so you **must** use `-(으)려고`.
Coming Up Next...
You just learned to state your general purpose. Next, you'll learn how to talk about what you "plan to" or "intend to" do, which is a very subtle but important variation.