LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

CONNECTING PARTICLE ~고

When studying Korean, eventually your entire life becomes learning about the various connecting particles and their respective meanings. There are so many of these things, whose functions are essentially to connect two clauses, sentences, or ideas. These particles usually get attached to the end (i.e. the adjective/verb) of one clause connecting it to the next clause. The simplest one of these connecting particles is ~고, which can be attached to the stem of a verb/adjective.

The most basic usage of ~고 is to indicate that one action occurs, and then something happens after that. The most common translation of this usage of "~고" is "then." For example:

애기가 1분 동안 울고 배를 먹었어요 - The baby cried for 1 minute and then ate a pear
저는 당근을 칼로 자르고 냉장고에 넣었어요 - I cut the carrots with the knife then put (them) in the fridge
우리는 서울에서 2일 동안 머무르고 부산에 갈 거예요 - We will stay in Seoul for two days, then go to Busan

If you really want to stress that you are doing something after doing something else, you can add 나서 after ~고. For example:

저는 숙제를 끝내고 나서 집으로 갈 거예요 - I will finish my homework and then go home
저는 친구를 만나고 나서 은행에 갈 거예요 - I will meet a friend and then go to the bank

In the sentences I presented so far, ~고 represents the meaning of 'then,' but it doesn't always have that meaning. It can also be used to simply connect two clauses that have a similar idea. For example:

저는 과일도 좋아하고 야채도 좋아해요 - I like fruit, and I like vegetables too
*Notice that 도 can be added to both 과일 and 야채 in this example. In English, we would just say "I like apples and vegetables too." That sentence only has one "too," but in Korean, 도 can be used twice. That sentence before could also be said like this:
저는 과일과 야채도 좋아해요 - I like fruit and vegetables too

Essentially, ~고 is used to connect two sentences/clauses together. Korean people LOVE making their sentences as short as possible – and using ~고 is one way of doing this. All of the sentences above could be separated into two sentences. I don't need to write all of them, but for example:

저는 밥을 먹을 거예요. 그리고 저는 갈 거예요
= 저는 밥을 먹고 갈 거예요

저는 잤어요. 그리고 저는 한국어를 공부했어요
= 저는 자고 한국어를 공부했어요

저는 과일을 좋아해요. 저는 야채를 좋아해요
= 저는 과일도 좋아하고 야채도 좋아해요

You can also use ~고 when you want to string together adjectives to describe something. Again, while each of these sentences could be split into two separate sentences, you can use ~고 to connect two clauses with a similar idea. For example:

그 사람은 착해요. 그 사람은 똑똑해요 - That person is nice. That person is smart.
= 그 사람은 착하고 똑똑해요 - That person is kind and smart

저의 여자 친구는 귀여워요. 저의 여자 친구는 예뻐요 - My girlfriend is cute. My girlfriend is pretty.
= 저의 여자 친구는 귀엽고 예뻐요 - My girlfriend is cute and pretty

오늘 고객이 많아요. 오늘 분위기가 좋아요 - Today there are a lot of customers. Today the atmosphere is good
= 오늘 고객이 많고 분위기가 좋아요 - Today there are a lot of customers, and the atmosphere is good

In a lot of Korean grammatical principles that connect sentences (which you will start learning a lot of soon), you will notice that the verb/adjective in the first clause is not conjugated, and that the grammatical principle is added directly to the stem of the word in the first clause. In these cases, the tense is usually indicated in the final verb/adjective of the sentence and the tense of the first verb/adjective can usually be implied by the context.

When attaching ~고 to the first clause, it is possible for the first verb/adjective to be conjugated. I have noticed that there are two cases when you would do this:

1) When one action happens after another action (just like I introduced at the beginning of this lesson), but when a considerable amount of time has passed between the two actions. The two actions are often connected in a way in that the first clause led to the possibility of the second clause to happen. For example:

저는 열심히 공부했고 의사가 되었어요 - I studied hard and (then) became a doctor
저는 영어 문법을 열심히 공부했고 시험을 잘 봤어요 - I studied English grammar hard and then did well on the test
Notice that Korean people say "시험을 보다" to mean "to take/do a test"

2) When connecting two clauses that have a similar idea that both happened in the past tense. Here, there is no real indication of one action happening after another. Instead, the person is just indicating that both things happened. For example:

저는 방학 동안 영어 문법을 많이 공부했고 영어 신문도 많이 읽었어요 - During vacation I studied a lot of English grammar, and I also read a lot of English newspapers

The sentences I provided at the beginning of the lesson (where one clause happens [right] after the other clause) would sound awkward if the first clause was conjugated. For example:

저는 잤고 한국어를 공부했어요
저는 책을 읽었고 바로 잤어요

You started learning about the particles ~는/은 and ~이/가. I continue to discuss the difference in purpose between these particles later. Before that, I would like to introduce you to usage of ~는/은 because it is commonly used in sentences with ~고.

I mentioned that ~는/은 has a comparative function. One way that it is often used is to say "this thing is one way, and this other thing is another way." For example:

이 산은 높아요. 저 산은 낮아요. - This mountain is high. That mountain is low.
문법은 어려워요. 단어는 쉬워요. - Grammar is difficult. Words are easy.
이 사람은 부자예요. 저 사람은 가난해요 - This person is rich. That person is poor.

In these situations, it is common to use ~고 to connect the two sentences as they are expressing a similar idea. In these cases, ~는/은 is attached to both things that are being compared. For example:

이 산은 높고 저 산은 낮아요 - This mountain is high, but that mountain is low
문법은 어렵고 단어는 쉬워요 - Grammar is hard, but words are easy
이 사람은 부자이고 저 사람은 가난해요 - That person is rich, but that person is poor