Quoting & Reported Speech
Report what someone said using indirect quotation patterns.
Reporting what someone said in Korean uses indirect quotation patterns that differ slightly by sentence type. For statements: verb stem + -다고 + 하다 (-다고 해요 = 'they said that ~'). For questions: verb stem + -냐고 + 하다 (or 묻다). For commands: verb stem + -(으)라고 + 하다. For suggestions: verb stem + -자고 + 하다.
Example: 선생님이 한국어를 공부하라고 했어요 (The teacher told me to study Korean). 친구가 영화를 보자고 했어요 (My friend suggested we watch a movie). These patterns let you describe conversations rather than just participating in them, which is essential for narrative speech and writing. The grammatical structure is regular once you identify the underlying sentence type, but each pattern needs separate drilling because choosing the wrong one changes the meaning significantly.
~다고 하다 — Reporting Statements
For verbs: ~(ㄴ/는)다고 하다. Present: 간다고 (says [they] go), 먹는다고 (says [they] eat). Past: 갔다고 (said [they] went). Adjectives: ~다고. 좋다고 (says it's good). Nouns: ~(이)라고. 학생이라고 (says [they're] a student).
~냐고 / ~자고 / ~(으)라고 — Questions, Suggestions, Commands
Questions: ~냐고 하다 (asked if/what). 뭐 먹냐고 물었어요 (asked what I'm eating). Suggestions: ~자고 하다. 같이 가자고 했어요 (suggested going together). Commands: ~(으)라고 하다. 빨리 오라고 했어요 (told to come quickly).