haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3A › V-도록 (하다)
V-도록 (하다) — so that … · please make sure you … — purpose and polite advice
So that … · please make sure you … — purpose and polite advice. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3A, lesson 7: 껐다가 다시 켜 보세요 (Turn it off and on again — breakdowns and repairs).
What it means
-도록 has two everyday uses. First, 'so that …': the first part is what you want to happen, the second part is what you do for it — 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발했어요 'I left early so that I wouldn't be late', 감기에 걸리지 않도록 옷을 따뜻하게 입으세요. It is very often negative, -지 않도록 'so as not to …', and the two parts can have different subjects: 잘 들리도록 크게 말해 주세요. It can also mean 'to the point that': 목이 아프도록 노래했어요. Second, -도록 하다 gives or takes on a task politely: -도록 하세요 'please make sure you …' is softer and more formal than -(으)세요 — doctors, teachers, staff and notices use it: 외출할 때는 가스레인지를 꼭 끄도록 하세요. -도록 하겠습니다 is a polite promise, typical of staff: 내일까지 고쳐 드리도록 하겠습니다. The form never changes: add 도록 to the verb stem, with or without 받침 (끄도록, 먹도록, 잠그도록), and -았/었- does not go before it. Compare -(으)려고 (Lesson 2A-1): -(으)려고 is your own plan (한국어를 배우려고 왔어요); -도록 is about the result you want to happen (잊지 않도록 적었어요).
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -도록 | 목적 · 정도 (so that … · until …) | 늦지 않다 + 도록 → 늦지 않도록 |
| -도록 하세요 | 권고 · 부드럽게 (please make sure …) | 끄다 + 도록 하세요 → 끄도록 하세요 |
Key points
- V-도록 하세요 = please make sure you … (polite advice, a little formal): 끄도록 하세요 · 잠그도록 하세요 — and staff promise with -도록 하겠습니다: 고쳐 드리도록 하겠습니다
- V-도록 = so that …, very often with -지 않도록: 늦지 않도록 · 감기에 걸리지 않도록. Add 도록 to any verb — no 받침 rule.
Examples
- -도록: 뒤의 일을 하는 이유 · 목적이에요. -지 않도록으로 많이 써요.
- 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발했어요. 감기에 걸리지 않도록 옷을 따뜻하게 입으세요.
- -도록 하세요: -(으)세요보다 더 부드럽게 말해요. 의사 · 선생님 · 직원이 많이 써요.
- 외출할 때는 가스레인지를 꼭 끄도록 하세요.
- -도록 하겠습니다: 직원이 약속할 때 — 내일까지 고쳐 드리도록 하겠습니다.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3A, lesson 7; Seoul National University Korean 3B, lesson 13; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-1, lesson 6; Yonsei University Korean 4-1, lesson 2; Hanyang University Korean 3-2, lesson 7; Hanyang University Korean 3-2, lesson 8; Hongik University Korean 4A, lesson 4.
Also in this lesson
- V-았/었다가 — did …, then undid it — finishing one thing, then the opposite or something else
- A-(으)ㄴ데도 · V-는데도 — even though … · … and it still didn't — when the result you expect does not come
- A/V-더니 — (I saw that) …, and then / but now … — a change or a result you noticed