Basic Korean grammar ‘고’(adjective/verb-고 grammar) attaches after the adjective or verb stems. It is a linking ending or connecting particle, and it is used to list the actions or facts which is not necessarily sequential.
Let’s start today’s grammar by looking at some example sentences.
고 connects actions or facts which is not necessarily sequential.
“날씨가 맑아요.(The weather is clear.)”
“날씨가 더워요. (=The weather is hot.)”
If you want to connect two sentences, how would you say it?
It would be “날씨가 맑고 더워요.”(The weather is clear and hot. We can use this particle by attaching it after the verb or adjective stem. For example-
‘춥다 (=to be cold)
마시다 (=to drink)
운동하다 (to exercise)
Remove ‘다’ from the basic forms and add ‘고.’ Now they become
춥다 (=to be cold) – 춥고
마시다 (=to drink) – 마시고
운동하다 (to exercise) – 운동하고
고 grammar rule
There are three things you need to consider while using 고. Let’s look at them one by one.
1.when the subjects of the first and second sentences are the same, the subject of the second sentence can be removed. For example, ‘날씨가 맑아요. (=The weather is clear.)’ ‘날씨가 더워요. (=The weather is hot.)’
What is the subject of two sentences?
The subject is ‘날씨가 (=the weather).’
When you connect two sentences having same subject you have to remove the subject of the second sentence so it becomes ‘날씨가 맑고 더워요. (=The weather is clear and hot.)’
2. when you switch the order of two clauses, the meaning is the same. For example, ‘’민조 는 놀고 나은 는 자요. (Minjo is playing and Naun is sleeping.)’
The second clause ‘나은는 자요 (=Naun is sleeping) comes first, and it becomes‘나은는 자고 (=Naun is sleeping and)’ and the first clause ‘민조 는 놀고 (=Minjo is playing and) goes after that. It becomes ‘민조 는 놀아요.’ The meaning is the same.
‘민조 는 놀고 나은 는 자요. (=Minjo is playing and Naun is sleeping)’ and ‘나은 는 자고 민조 는 놀아요. (Naun is sleeping and Minjo is playing)’ have the same meaning.
3. Tense markers are usually used in the second clause. For example, ‘나은 씨는 밥을 먹었어요. (=Naun had a meal).’ ‘민조 씨는 라면을 먹었어요. (=Minjo had an instant noodle). Both sentences are in the past tense.
When you connect two sentences, it becomes ‘나은 씨는 밥을 먹고 민조 씨는 라면을 먹었어요. (Naun had a meal and Minjo had instant noodles.)’
The first clause, you need to say ‘밥을 먹고 (=lit. have a meal and).’ The tense marker ‘었’ goes to the second clause so it is ‘먹었어요 (=lit. had).’
고 conjugation
숙제해요 (do homework)
When you add ‘고’ after ‘숙제해요 (do homework),’ How would you say it?
The basic form of ‘숙제해요’ is ‘숙제하다 (=to do a homework) ‘고’ attaches after the verb stem ‘숙제하.’ So it becomes ‘숙제하고.’
‘숙제해고’ is wrong.
When you add ‘고’ after ‘마셔요 (drink),’ How would you say it?
마셔요 (To drink)
The basic form of ‘마셔요’ is ‘마시다 (=to drink). ‘고’ attaches after the verb stem ‘마시.’ So it becomes ‘마시고.’
‘마셔고’ is wrong.
추워요 (cold)
When you add ‘고’ after ‘추워요 (cold),’ How would you say it?
The basic form of ‘추워요’ is ‘춥다 (=to be cold)’. ‘고’ attaches after the adjective stem ‘춥.’ So it becomes ‘춥고.’
‘추워고’ is wrong.
가요 (go)
When you add ‘고’ after ‘가요 (go),’ How would you say it?
The basic form of ‘가요’ is ‘가다 (=to go)’. ‘고’ attaches after the verb stem ‘가.’ So it becomes ‘가고.’
고 exercise
Now, let’s look at some example sentences.
딸기가 싸요. (=Strawberries are cheap.) + 딸기가 맛있어요. (=Strawberries are delicious.).
When you connect two sentences, it becomes ‘딸기가 싸고 맛있어요 (=Strawberries are cheap and delicious.)
눈이 왔어요. (=It snowed) + 날씨가 추웠어요. (=It was cold.)
When you connect two sentences, it becomes ‘눈이 오고 날씨가 추웠어요. (It snowed and it was cold.)
김 씨는 중국 사람이에요. (Kim is Chinese) + 민재 씨는 한국 사람이에요. (=Minje is Korean.)
When you connect two sentences it becomes ‘김 씨는 중국 사람이고 민재 씨는 한국 사람이에요.’ (Kim is Chinese and Minje is Korean.)
고 grammar Conclusion
Today, we’ve learned ‘adjective/verb-고.’
‘고’ is a connecting particle. It is used after the stems of adjectives/verbs. It is used to list actions, states, and facts without time order.
We’ve looked at three things to consider.
First, when the subjects of two sentences/clauses are the same, the subject of the second sentence/clause can be removed.
Second, when two clauses are switched, the meaning is the same.
Third, tense markers are usually used in the second clause.
