Types and Functions of the ‘S-go geureo-’ Construction

In this study, it is shown that the semantic functions of the ‘S-go geureo-’ construction can be categorized according to the semantic types of the preceding clause, and its characteristics are identified. The main points are summarized as follows: First, the ‘S-go geureo-’ construction can be divided into three types based on the semantic type of the ‘-go’ subordinate clause situation. The first type involves a list of individual actions; the second type expresses the speaker’s internal emotions or subjective evaluations; and the third type involves a more strongly subjective evaluation by the speaker, forming the ‘-go’ clause. In the first type, it is possible to list multiple preceding situations, and the suffix ‘-go’ can be replaced by other conjunctive endings like ‘-geona’ or ‘-deunji’ (which express choice), and the use of ‘ha-’ instead of ‘geureo-’ is also permitted. The second type allows only the listing of preceding situations, and it shows intermediate characteristics as the replacement with choice endings or with ‘ha-’ is not possible. The third type exhibits syntactic differences as neither replacement is possible. The basic function of the ‘S-go geureo-’ construction is to evoke and refer to a similar category as the ‘-go’ clause. This basic function leads to the emergence of secondary functions. The secondary functions are as follows: First, it creates a moderate expression by ambiguously expressing what is being referred to, thereby making the expression more moderate from the listener’s perspective and reducing the speaker’s burden in the utterance. Second, it adjusts the distance by objectively expressing information known only to the speaker as if it were also known to the listener. Third, by representing the situation in the ‘-go’ clause as a repeated event, it makes the action understood as a state or attribute.