Lesson 3. Auxiliary Verb #1| Verb-아/어주다’s usages

In this lesson, we’re going to learn the meanings of “Verb+아/어 주다,” the 주다 auxiliary verb. 

Auxiliary verbs are a verb that is combined with & put after another verb, and usually the preceding verb is conjugated in present tense and then you put the auxiliary verb.

In case of 주다 auxiliary verb, it would be used like this : “Verb + 아/어 + 주다”

Let’s look at conjugations first:

하다 (to do) > 해주다 > to do sth for sb else

읽다 (to read) > 읽어주다 > to read sth for sb else

말하다 (to say, to speak) > 말해주다 > to say sth for sb else

돕다 (to help) > 도와주다 > to help somebody

*돕다 is an irregular verb, which is more commonly used with “주다” than by itself. 

**When a verb ends in “ㅂ”, it gets deleted and then we add “오”.

So, when you want to say that something is beneficial to you, or something that would be helpful for other people to do, you use this combination.

1. Polite Request

When a speaker wants to make a polite request asking for something beneficial to them, that person would say:

도와주세요. – Please help me.

*if you say “도우세요”, it sounds like a command to another person to help you.

**when you ask for a polite request, ~(으)세요 ending is always used.

기다려주세요. – Please wait.

요리해주세요. – Please cook for me.

When we ask a person to do something for the other person’s benefits, we don’t use “주다”, for example:

좋은 하루 보내세요. – Have a good day.

감기 조심하세요. – Be careful of the cold.

공부 열심히 해! – Study hard!

2. Expressing Gratitude

When a speaker wants to express gratitude for doing something beneficial for them, you can use Verb+아/어 주다. 

To say thank you for something, “그래서” is used:

(Subject) + (Object) + Present Verb + 서 + 감사합니다/고마워요.

Now, we need to combine it with “주다”:

(Subject) + (Object) + Present Verb + 주(시다) + 아/어 서 + 감사합니다/고마워요

일찍 와주셔서 감사해요. – Thank you for coming early. 

제 영상을 봐주셔서 감사합니다. – Thank you for watching my videos.

(저를) 가르쳐주셔서 감사합니다. – Thank you for teaching me.

우리한테 말해줘서 고마워. – Thank you for telling us.

3. Verbs that are more commonly used with “주다” than by themselves

돕다 (to help) > 도와주다 

용서하다 (to forgive) > 용서해주다 (or, 봐주다)

돌보다 (to take care of/to look after) > 돌봐주다

안다 (to hug) > 안아주다 

아저씨가 저를 도와줬어요. – He helped me.

네가 나를 용서해주면, 뭐든 다 할게. – If you forgive me, I’ll do anything.

제프를 안아주고 싶어. – I want to hug Jeff. 

4. When “주다” is replaced with “드리다”

When a speaker has to show respect to the receiver, the verb “주다” should to be replaced with its honorific form “드리다”.

e.g.

저는 하루 종일 할머니를 돌봐줬어요. (X) – It’s not completely wrong, but since grandmother is someone you definitely have to be showing respect to, it sounds politer to replace 주다 with 드리다.

저는 하루 종일 할머니를 돌봐드렸어요. – I looked after my grandmother all day long.

저는 선생님을 도와드렸어요. – I helped my teacher.

저는 할머니께 반지를 드렸어요. – I gave a ring to my grandmother.

5. Useful Expressions with “주다”

(가격을) 깎아주세요. – Please, give me a discount.

신발을 벗어주세요. – Please, take off your shoes.

조용히 해주세요. – Please, stay quiet.

Pairs of Verbs that look similar but have different meaning :

6. 알다 vs 알리다

알다 (to know) > 알아주다 (to do a favor of knowing)

알리다 (to let sb know/to notify) > 알려주다 (to do a favor of notifying/tell/teach)

e.g.

제 노력을 알아주세요. – Please know that I work hard (my effort).

제프 씨의 번호를 알려주세요. – Please tell me Jeff’s number.

7. 보다 vs 보이다

보다 (to see, to watch, to look) active verb > 봐주다 (to do a favor of watching; to forgive)

보이다 (to be seen, visible) passive verb > 보여주다 (to show) active verb

e.g.

영화(를) 봐. – I’m watching a movie.

영화(가) 보여? – Can you see the movie? (Is the movie visible to you?)

영화 볼 수 있어? – Can you watch a movie? (asking about your ability to watch it).

제 영상을 봐주세요. – Please watch my videos.

재미있는 영상을 보여주세요. – Please show me an interesting video.

*Sth 을/를 보다 – to look at something

Sth 이/가 보이다 – for sth to be visible

8. 듣다 vs 들리다

듣다 (to listen) active verb > 들어주다 (to do a favor of listening)

들리다 (to be heard) passive verb > 들려주다 (to let sb hear sth) active verb

노래(를) 들어. – I listen to a song.

음악(이) 들려. – I can hear the music.

내 애기를 들어줘. – Please listen to my story.

네 애기를 들려줘. – Please let me hear your story.

9. 빌리다 vs 빌려주다

빌리다 (to borrow)

빌려주다 (to lend)

제프한테 돈을 빌렸어요. – I borrowed money from Jeff.

제프한테 돈을 빌려줬어요. – I lent money to Jeff.

10. How to ask someone “not” to do something politely

One way to tell a person not to do something is to add “~지 마/~지 말아” to a verb.

Verb Stem + ~지 말다 = to not Verb

To ask a person not to do something more politely, you have to combine the verb “말다” with “주다”:

Verb + ~지 말아주세요 = Please don’t do Verb

방해하지 말아주세요. – Please don’t interrupt. (방해하지 마세요).

늦지 말아주세요. – Please don’t be late 

떠들지 말아주세요. – Please don’t talk 

[Quick Summary]:

Polite request: Present Verb + 주다 + (으)세요

Expressing Gratitude: (Subject) + (Object) + Present Verb + 주(시다) + 아/어 서 + 감사합니다/고마워요.

주다 > 드리다 when a speaker shows respect to a receiver

알다 (to know) > 알아주다 (to do a favor of knowing)

알리다 (to let sb know/to notify) > 알려주다 (to do a favor of notifying/tell/teach)

보다 (to see, to watch, to look) active verb > 봐주다 (to do a favor of watching; to forgive)

보이다 (to be seen, visible) passive verb > 보여주다 (to show) active verb

듣다 (to listen) active verb > 들어주다 (to do a favor of listening)

들리다 (to be heard) passive verb > 들려주다 (to let sb hear sth) active verb

빌리다 (to borrow)

빌려주다 (to lend)

Please don’t do Verb: Verb Stem + ~지 말아주세요