Previously, we learned how to use “세요” to make polite requests.
Please go.
The verb 주다 (to give) can also pair with “세요” to make a very common Korean expression: 주세요.
To use it, simply put it after a noun:
Please give me kimchi.
Please give a menu.
Please give me some more bread.
Remember your object markers (을/를)!
주세요 is very often used at restaurants when talking to wait staff.
You use it when you want to be polite and respectful (which is why the translations above include “Please”).
To a close friend or someone close to you who is the same age or younger, simply conjugate 주다:
You can use 주세요 with the conjugated form of an action verb to say “Please do something for me.”
Examples:
So what’s the difference between the (으)세요 form we learned last lesson and the form above?
Both sentences above both mean “please come” (오다 - to come). The difference is that the 주세요 form implies that the action is beneficial to the speaker.
For example, with the verb 고치다 (to fix):
Please correct my Korean.
Would be more appropriate than “고치세요” here, because you are asking for a favor.
So we just learned about one of the most common expressions in Korean: 주세요. It can be used to ask for a thing (noun), but it can also be used to politely ask for a favor (something that benefits you).
Review it and I’ll see you in the next one!