한글
GuidesSign inGet started

Grammar / Level 3 / Lesson 64

~도록, ~게, ~게끔: so that, and to the point of

By Daniel Buckley · 10 minute read · TOPIK 3

Vocabulary

  1. 깨다 - to wake up
  2. 잊어버리다 - to forget
  3. 메모하다 - to make a note
  4. 감기 - a cold
  5. 자르다 - to cut
  6. 비키다 - to move out of the way
  7. 제출하다 - to hand in
  8. 밤새다 - for the night to pass
  9. 확인하다 - to check
  10. 조심하다 - to be careful

A baby is asleep in the next room, and you want to say "be quiet so she doesn't wake up". (으)려고 is no help, because waking up isn't anybody's plan. Korean says 아기가 깨지 않도록 조용히 하세요.

~도록 marks a point you're trying to reach: the way you want things to end up. Everything else in the sentence is what you do to get there. The same ending can also mark how far something went, which looks like a separate meaning until you notice that both are about a point.

~도록: so that

(으)려고 and 기 위해 from Intention and purpose say what someone means to do, and they usually want the same subject on both sides. ~도록 only describes the outcome you're after. The outcome can belong to anybody, even someone with no say in it, like a sleeping baby.

Making ~도록

  • Verbs and adjectives: drop 다, add 도록.가다 → 가도록먹다 → 먹도록살다 → 살도록
  • Negative: 지 않도록, or 못 before the verb.늦다 → 늦지 않도록만지다 → 못 만지도록
  • Can: ㄹ/을 수 있도록.먹다 → 먹을 수 있도록

Pick a verb

가다가가도록

  1. 아기가 깨지 않도록 조용히 하세요.

    Keep your voice down so that the baby doesn't wake up.

  2. 잊어버리지 않도록 메모했어요.

    I made a note so that I wouldn't forget.

  3. 감기에 걸리지 않도록 따뜻하게 입으세요.

    Dress warmly so that you don't catch a cold.

  4. 뒤에 앉은 사람도 잘 볼 수 있도록 크게 썼어요.

    I wrote it big so that people sitting at the back could see it too.

  5. 아이들이 먹을 수 있도록 작게 잘랐어요.

    I cut it up small so that the children could eat it.

  6. 친구가 쉴 수 있도록 제가 청소했어요.

    I did the cleaning so that my friend could rest.

In most of these, one person acts and someone else gets the result, which is what ~도록 is good at. 도록 takes no 았/었, even in a sentence about the past, as examples 2 and 5 show.

~게: the everyday version

In conversation, ~게 often does the same job. You know this 게 from Adverbs, where it described how things come out, and from 게 하다. Here it describes how you want things to come out. For "so that", 게 and 도록 usually swap with no real change, and 도록 just sounds a little more formal.

  1. 늦지 않게 일찍 오세요.

    Come early so that you're not late.

  2. 잘 들리게 크게 말해 주세요.

    Please speak up so that I can hear you.

  3. 제가 지나가게 좀 비켜 주세요.

    Could you move over so that I can get past?

  4. 모두 먹을 수 있게 많이 만들었어요.

    I made plenty so that everyone could have some.

  5. 아이가 못 만지게 높은 곳에 뒀어요.

    I put it up high so that the child couldn't touch it.

~게끔 is 게 with more push behind it, and the dictionary defines it that way. Reach for it when you want to say you made sure of something.

  1. 다시는 늦지 않게끔 알람을 세 개 맞췄어요.

    I set three alarms to make sure I'm never late again.

  2. 실수가 없게끔 다시 확인했어요.

    I checked again to make sure there were no mistakes.

  3. 아이들도 이해할 수 있게끔 쉽게 설명해 주세요.

    Please explain it simply, so that even children can follow.

  1. 아이가 ___ 조용히 했어요.

    We kept quiet so that the child could sleep.

  2. 친구를 ___ 카페에 가요.

    I'm going to a cafe to meet a friend.

도록 하세요: telling someone to see to it

Add 하다 and you have a relative of 게 하다, with a job of its own. 도록 하세요 tells someone what to do, and it sounds like a person in charge: a teacher, a doctor, a boss. 도록 하겠습니다 turns it round and makes a formal promise.

  1. 내일까지 제출하도록 하세요.

    Make sure you hand it in by tomorrow.

  2. 앞으로는 늦지 않도록 하세요.

    Make sure you're not late from now on.

  3. 약을 먹고 푹 쉬도록 하세요.

    Take your medicine and make sure you get plenty of rest.

  4. 다음부터는 조심하도록 하겠습니다.

    I'll make sure to be more careful from now on.

  5. 오늘까지 끝내도록 하겠습니다.

    I'll see that it's finished by today.

~도록: to the point of

Now the point is a limit, and 도록 tells you how far things went. English says "until" or "so much that". Often it's an exaggeration: nobody's throat in example 3 needed a doctor.

  1. 밤새도록 공부했어요.

    I studied all night.

  2. 세 시간이 지나도록 아무도 안 왔어요.

    Nobody came, even after three hours.

  3. 목이 아프도록 노래했어요.

    We sang until our throats hurt.

  4. 다리가 아프도록 걸었어요.

    I walked until my legs ached.

  5. 눈물이 나도록 웃었어요.

    I laughed until I cried.

  6. 밤늦도록 일했어요.

    I worked until late at night.

※ 게 does this too in some set phrases, like 배 터지게 먹었어요, I ate until I nearly burst. Words like 밤새도록 and 밤늦도록 keep their 도록.

  1. 늦지 않도록 택시를 탔어요.

  2. 밤새도록 이야기했어요.

  3. 잊어버리지 않도록 여기에 쓰세요.

  4. 손이 아프도록 박수를 쳤어요.

  5. 모두 볼 수 있도록 사진을 올렸어요.

  6. 한 시간이 지나도록 버스가 안 왔어요.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

Common mistakes

  1. 늦지 않았도록 택시를 탔어요.

    늦지 않도록 택시를 탔어요.

    No 았/었 before 도록. The end of the sentence carries the past.

  2. 아이들이 먹어도록 작게 잘랐어요.

    아이들이 먹도록 작게 잘랐어요.

    도록 goes on the bare stem, not on the 아/어 form.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

감기에 ___ 따뜻하게 입으세요. (걸리다, with 지 않도록) Dress warmly so that you don't catch a cold.

Stem, then 지 않도록.

Summary

~도록 forms
DictionaryStem~도록
먹다먹먹도록
가다가가도록
듣다듣듣도록
살다살살도록
쓰다쓰쓰도록
쉬다쉬쉬도록

The family

  • ~도록: so that, or to the point of.늦지 않도록 일찍 왔어요밤새도록 공부했어요
  • ~게: so that, in everyday speech.잘 들리게 말해 주세요
  • ~게끔: so that, and I made sure of it.실수가 없게끔 확인했어요
  • 도록 하세요, 도록 하겠습니다: an instruction, and a formal promise.내일까지 제출하도록 하세요

Now you can say

  1. 늦지 않게 일찍 오세요.

    Come early so that you're not late.

  2. 밤새도록 이야기했어요.

    We talked all night.

  3. 다음부터는 조심하도록 하겠습니다.

    I'll make sure to be more careful from now on.

Sign in to keep track of the lessons you've finished.