birotan hanguk eumsigeul mandeureo bwasseoyo.
I tried making some Korean food, including bibimbap.
보드카, 위스키, 소주를 비롯한 독한 술을 마셨어요.
Bodeuka, wiseuki, sojureul birotan dokhan sureul masyeosseoyo.
I drank strong alcohol, including beer, whiskey and soju.
Linking Sentences: And
Focus: 고
고 by itself is one way of saying “and.” You can also put it together with other expressions to get plenty of interesting and unexpected combinations. Here’s a quick list if you’re confused:
| Expression | Page | Meaning | Sample sentence |
| A고B | 51 | A and B | 민수가 정시에 오고 가영이 늦게 왔어요. Minsuga jeongsie ogo Kayeongi neutge wasseoyo. Minsu came on time and Kayoung was late. |
| ~고요 | 52 | ~, too | 민수가 늦어요. 음식도 가지고 오지 않고요. Minsuga neujeoyo. Eumsikdo gajigo oji ankoyo. Minsu’s late. He also didn’t bring any food. |
| ~고 있다 | 255 | Is ~ing | 그 아이가 놀고 있어요 Geu aiga nolgo isseoyo. The child is playing. |
| A고도B | 108 | Although A, B | 서두르고도 늦었어요. Seodureugodo neujeosseoyo. Although I hurried, I was late. |
| A고는B | – | Because of A, B (unexpectedly) happened | 그 책을 읽고는 성격이 달라졌어요. Geu chaegeul ilgoneun seonggyeogi dallajyeosseoyo. Since reading that book, his personality changed completely. |
| A고서B | 280 | A, then B | 지하철을 타고서 늦었어요. Jihacheoreul tagoseo neujeosseoyo. I took the subway and then I was late. |
| A고서는B | 281 | While A, B (can’t happen) | 신발을 신고서는 집에 들어올 수 없어요. Sinbareul singoseoneun jibe deureool su eobseoyo. You can’t come in the house while wearing your shoes. |
| A고서야B | 301 | A, then B | 우리가 지하철을 타고서야 정시에 올 수 있었어요. Uriga jihacheoreul tagoseoya jeongsie ol su isseosseoyo. We took the subway, and then we were able to arrive on time (at least partly because of taking the subway). |
| A고 나서B | 272 | A and then B | 저녁을 먹고 나서 담배를 피웠어요. Jeonyeogeul meokgo naseo dambaereul piwosseoyo. I ate dinner and then had a cigarette. |
| A고자B | 229 | I plan to A, so B | 늦지 않게 오고자 집에서 일찍 출발했어요. Neutji anke ogoja jibeseo iljjik chulbalhaesseoyo. I left the house early so as not to be late. |
| A고 보니 (까)B | 282 | I did A and then discovered that B | 지하철에 타고 보니 택시보다 더 느렸어요. Jihacheore tago boni taeksiboda deo neuryeosseoyo. I took the subway, but found it was slower than a taxi. |
| A고 해서B | 294 | A, so B | 열쇠를 일어버리고 해서 늦게 왔어요. Yeolsoereul ireobeorigo haeseo neutge wasseoyo. I lost my keys (among other things), so I arrived late. |
| ~고 말고(요) go malgo(yo) | 37 | Of course, ~ | 늦고 말고요. 민수는 일 때문에 정시에 오지 못 해요. Neutgo malgoyo. Minsuneun il ttaemune jeongsie oji mot haeyo. Of course he was late. Because of his job, he can’t come on time. |
| ~고 말겠다 go malgetda | 232 | I (definitely) plan to ~ | 이번에는 꼭 정시에 오고 말겠어요. Ibeoneneun kkok jeongsie ogo malgesseoyo. This time I’m definitely going to come on time. |
| ~고 말았다 go maratda | 233 | (Unfortunately), ~ happened. | 정시에 온다는 것이 결국 늦게 오고 말았어요. Jeongsie ondaneun geosi gyeolguk neutge ogo marasseoyo. I meant to come on time, but (unfortunately) I ended up being late. |
| ~고는/곤 하다 goneun/gon hada | 349 | Habitually do ~ | 민수가 대학교 때 자주 수업에 늦게 오곤 했어요. Minsuga daehakgyo ttae jaju sueobe neutge ogon haesseoyo. During university, Minsu was habitually late for class. |
And: Putting Things Together
The Basics:
민수가 정시에 오고 가영이 늦게 왔어요.
Minsuga jeongsie ogo Kayeongi neutge wasseoyo.
Minsu came on time and Kayoung was late.
고 is the workhorse when it comes to combining things in Korean. However, it’s a bit of a prima donna, and you can’t just stick it in any sentence and expect it to do its job. See the “Take note” section below on how to properly use 고.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
| All tenses | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 hada | 하고 hago |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 meokda | 먹고 meokgo |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 yeppeuda | 예쁘고 yeppeugo |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 jakda | 작고 jakgo |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 namja | 남자이고 namjaigo |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 mul | 물이고 muligo |
TAKE NOTE
First of all, the subjects of both clauses, A and B, must be the same you’re using one of these three verbs to end A: 가다, 오다 or 일어나다 ireonada. In these cases you should use 어서 instead of 고. You can use 가다, 오다 or 일어나다 with 고 if the subjects of both clauses are different from each other.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
영화를 보고 쇼핑을 하러 강남에 갔어요.
Yeonghwareul bogo syopingeul hareo Gangname gasseoyo.
I went to Gangnam to see a movie and go shopping.
그 수업이 재미없고 어려워요.
Geu sueobi jaemieopgo eoryeowoyo.
That class is boring and difficult.
내일 한국어 공부하고 책을 읽을 거예요.
Naeil hangukeo gongbuhago chaegeul ilgeul geoyeyo.
Tomorrow I’m going to study Korean and read a book.
민수가 가고 가영이 왔어요.
Minsuga gago Kayeongi wasseoyo.
Minsu left and Kayoung came.
Note that in the last example
