Day 19: Want and can

★ -고 싶어요 · -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 · -(으)ㄹ까요? · -(으)ㄹ게요 · 30 min

Four endings today, and they are the biggest jump in what you can say in the whole course. Until now you could only report what is. From today you can say what you want, what you can, what you propose and what you will do.

All four attach to the stem — the verb minus 다 — and none of them care who the subject is.

1. ★★ -고 싶어요 — "I want to"

### stem + 고 싶어요

★ No batchim rule, no vowel harmony — 고 just attaches. It is the easiest ending in the language.

뭐 하고 싶어요? — What do you want to do?김치찌개 먹고 싶어요. — I want to eat kimchi stew.한국어를 잘하고 싶어요. — I want to be good at Korean.

⚠️ Two things English speakers get wrong

① There is no "I want a thing" with this ending. 고 싶어요 attaches to verbs only. For a noun, say what you want to do with it:

② For someone else, it becomes 고 싶어해요. Korean marks the difference between your own desire (which you know) and someone else's (which you infer):

저는 가고 싶어요. — I want to go.민수 씨는 가고 싶어해요. — Minsu wants to go.

★ Recognise this; you rarely need to produce it. But saying 민수 씨는 가고 싶어요 sounds like you are reporting your own feelings about Minsu, and Koreans notice.

2. ★★ -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 — "can, be able to"

### Vowel stem → -ㄹ 수 있어요 · Batchim stem → -을 수 있어요

And the negative is 없어요:

★ Literally: "the possibility of going exists / does not exist." 수 is a noun meaning way, possibility — so this is 있어요/없어요 again, the same verb pair you have used since Day 10.

⚠️ And the shorter, more common negative: 못

못 가요. — I can't go.못 먹어요. — I can't eat it.

★ 못 + verb is far more common in speech than -ㄹ 수 없어요. Both are correct; 못 가요 is what people say. (Day 23 covers 안 vs 못 properly.)

⚠️ 하다 verbs split around 못, exactly as they do around 안:

공부 못 해요. — I can't study. (not 못 공부해요)

3. ★ -(으)ㄹ까요? — "shall we? / shall I?"

### Vowel stem → -ㄹ까요? · Batchim stem → -을까요?

★ This is how Koreans make suggestions, and it is softer than 같이 가요 from Day 6 — it asks rather than proposes. In a group, 뭐 먹을까요? is the normal opener.

Answering: 좋아요! (Day 13) · 네, 좋아요 · 음… 다음에요 (next time)

4. ★ -(으)ㄹ게요 — "I'll do it"

### Vowel stem → -ㄹ게요 · Batchim stem → -을게요

★ -(으)ㄹ게요 is a promise or a decision made in response to the situation — it always implies the listener. You have already been using it for a week without knowing: 제가 낼게요, 그냥 볼게요, 이따 봐요 — these are the fabric of everyday Korean.

⚠️ It is first-person only. You cannot say 민수 씨가 갈게요 — the ending commits the speaker, so it makes no sense about someone else.

★ The pair to feel: -(으)ㄹ까요? asks, -(으)ㄹ게요 commits.— 제가 할까요? (shall I?) — 네, 부탁해요. — 알겠어요, 제가 할게요. (I'll do it.)

5. Dialogue

민수: 알렉스 씨, 오늘 뭐 하고 싶어요?Alex: 저는 한국 음식 먹고 싶어요. 어디 갈까요?민수: 삼겹살 어때요? 근처에 좋은 데 있어요.Alex: 좋아요! 그런데 저는 매운 거 잘 못 먹어요.민수: 삼겹살은 안 매워요. 걱정 마세요.Alex: 다행이에요. 몇 시에 만날까요?민수: 일곱 시 어때요?Alex: 좋아요. 제가 예약할게요.민수: 아, 제가 할게요. 한국어로 전화해야 되니까요.Alex: 감사합니다! 그럼 제가 살게요.민수: 아니에요, 다음에 사세요.Alex: 알겠어요. 이따 봐요!

★ All four endings, in order: 하고 싶어요 (want) → 갈까요 / 만날까요 (shall we)→ 못 먹어요 (can't) → 예약할게요 / 할게요 / 살게요 (I'll).★ And note the ending exchange — 제가 살게요 / 다음에 사세요 — which is Day 12's "one person pays" playing out exactly as described.

6. Exercises

A. -고 싶어요.

1. 가다 2. 먹다 3. 자다 4. 배우다 5. 쉬다

B. -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요.

1. 가다 2. 하다 3. 먹다 4. 읽다 5. 만들다

C. -(으)ㄹ까요?

1. Shall we go? 2. What shall we eat? 3. Shall I do it? 4. What time shall we meet?

D. -(으)ㄹ게요.

1. I'll go. 2. I'll call. 3. I'll pay. 4. I'm just looking.

E. Translate.

1. What do you want to do?
2. I want to eat Korean food.
3. I can't go today.
4. Can you speak Korean?
5. Shall we have a coffee?
6. I'll do it.

F. ⚠️ 못 — where does it go?

1. 가다 → can't go 2. 먹다 → can't eat 3. 공부하다 → can't study

G. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.

1. 커피를 고 싶어요.
2. 민수 씨는 가고 싶어요. (Minsu wants to go)
3. 못 공부해요.
4. 민수 씨가 갈게요.
5. 먹을 수 없어요. (say it the common way)

7. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)

1. 뭐 하고 싶어요? — What do you want to do?
2. 한국 음식 먹고 싶어요. — I want to eat Korean food
3. 한국에 가고 싶어요. — I want to go to Korea
4. 한국어 할 수 있어요? — Can you speak Korean?
5. 오늘 못 가요. — I can't go today
6. 매운 거 잘 못 먹어요. — I can't really eat spicy food
7. 뭐 먹을까요? — What shall we eat?
8. 몇 시에 만날까요? — What time shall we meet?
9. 제가 할게요. — I'll do it
10. 전화할게요. — I'll call you

8. 📲 Upload to LangNote

Upload sections 1–4 (the four endings) and section 7 → study language Korean.

★ Say ten true sentences about tomorrow tonight. *일찍 일어나고 싶어요. 못 자요.공부할게요.* Real facts stick; exercises do not.

Tomorrow: -아/어야 해요 — what you have to do, and what you're not allowed to.

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