안녕하세요. Welcome to My Korean Lessin! Today, you'll learn how to connect two verbs to show a time order using 고 grammar. At the end of the lesson, you'll be able to say expressions like "Brush your teeth after eating," or "I finished homework and then watched the TV."
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1. 고 Grammar
고 is the connective ending. With this grammar, you can connect two verbs in the time order. It is used when talking about actions that occur first and later. So you can think of it as "and " or "and then" in English.
밥을 먹다 to eat meal + 약을 먹다 to take pills
밥을 먹고 약을 먹어요.
Eat your meal and then take pills. (Take pills after eating your meal.)
Since it shows the time order, if you switch the order, the meanings are not the same! Make sure the first action is with 고.
숙제를 하고 놀아요. Do homework first and then play.
≠ 놀고 숙제를 하세요. Play and then do homework.
Since it is meant to show the time order, you attach it only to a verb stem, not an adjective stem! If you do so, that will be the 고1 meaning "and".
고1 | 고2 |
and (listing) | and then (time order) |
verbs, adjectives, 이다, 아니다 | only with verbs |
비가오고 추워요. It's rainy and cold. - No time order | 손을 씻고 밥을 먹어요. Wash your hands and then eat. -time order |
Even if you change the order, it doesn't change the meaning. | If you change the order, the meaning will be changed. |
춥고 비가와요. It's cold and rainy. | 밥을 먹고 손을 씻어요. I eat and then wash my hands. |
2. Conjugation Information
You don't have to worry about any difficult conjugation rules! You can simply attach 고 to a verb.
읽다 → 읽고 read and then
먹다 → 먹고 eat and then
가다 → 가고 go and then
쓰다 → 쓰고 write and then
만들다 → 만들고 make and then
듣다 → 듣고 listen and then
긋다 → 긋고 draw a line and then
돕다 → 돕고 help and then
3. Sentence Information
Subject
The subject of the first and second clauses should be the same. In other words, you can use only one subject in one sentence.
(O) 저는 손을 씻고 밥을 먹었어요. I washed my hands and ate.
(X) 저는 손을 씻고 민지는 밥을 먹었어요. I washed my hands and Minji ate.
↪ In this case, this 고 will be the 고 1; listing.
Tense
You can't attach any tense words like 었(past tense) or 겠(future/guess) with 고. The tense will be revealed at the end of the sentence. Let's compare the two.
Present: 나는 밥을 먹고 약을 먹어요.
Past: 나는 밥을 먹고 약을 먹었어요.
Future: 나는 밥을 먹고 약을 먹겠어요.
I marked in color the spots that show the tense of the sentences. As you see, the tenses are revealed at the end! But take a look at the first verb with 고. It doesn't have any tense words!
However, this is for today's grammar 고2. You may see tense words with 고. In that case, apply the meaning of 고1! As you see, our time order 고2 is a little more tricky than the 고1 rule.
Comparison 고 vs. 어서
고 and 어서 both represent the time order of actions but they are not the same. Let's compare them.
고 | 어서 |
It simply represents the order of actions. The actions are not related. | The two actions are closely related. |
젠은 친구를 만나고 학교에 갔다. Jen met her friend and went to school. (Jen met her friend and then went to school alone.) | 젠은 친구를 만나서 학교에 갔다. Jen met her friend and went to school. (She went to school with her friend.) |
When the first and second clauses are related closely, it is a little weird to use 고. | |
집에 가고 쉬세요. (?) 버스에서 내리고 지하철을 탔어요. (?) | 집에 가서 쉬세요. (O) Go home and rest. 버스에서 내려서 지하철을 탔어요. (O) I got off the bus and then took the subway. |
4. Examples
1
밥을 다 먹고 이를 닦으세요.
Eat all your food and then brush your teeth.
다 is an adverb here, meaning "all" or "everything". 이 means tooth or teeth. 닦다 means to clean, to wash, to wipe, to brush, to mop, etc. You can see my point here, right? So, you can say "Brush the teeth" 이를 닦다.
2
운동을 하고 샤워를 해요.
Exercise and then take a shower.
We combine two verbs(clauses) 운동을 하다(to exercise) and 샤워를 하다(to show). If you change the order it won't make sense. You always attach 고 to the first action!
3
숙제를 다 하고 텔레비전을 봤어요.
I finished my homework and then watched the TV.
다 하다 with a space between means "do all" or "finish all". Even if you take "다," the sentence still makes sense. 다 is there just to emphasize.
= 숙제를 하고 텔레비전을 봤어요.
4
지나: 주말에 뭐 했어요? What did you do this weekend?
영준: 도서관에서 공부를 하고 쉬었어요. I studied at the library and then rested.
주말-weekend, 도서관-library, 에서-dynamic place marker, 공부를 하다-to study, 쉬다-to rest
영준 studied first and then rested after. So we connect them using "고".
5
재료를 다 넣고 잘 섞으세요.
Put all ingredients and mix well.
재료-ingredients, 넣다-to put, 잘-well, 섞다-to mix
5. Wrap-up & Worksheet
복습하고 문제를 푸세요. (Review and solve the problems!)
고 is a connective ending that connects two verbs in the time order.
A고 B: A and (then) B
The order of two verbs is important.
A고 B ≠ B고 A
Below is the free printable worksheet I have prepared for you. The answers can be found within the lesson. After completing the worksheet, return to the lesson to verify your answers. This will also aid you in reviewing the material!
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