고, 하고, 그리고(and)

Hello, everyone! Today, we will learn how to connect verbs, nouns, and sentences using the 고 grammar. We will master the usage of “and” in Korean.

I will explain each point step by step to facilitate understanding.

So just follow along with me!

Part 1,
Let’s grasp the concept of grammar

그리고: And, after (to connect sentences)
고: And, after (it’s only used with verbs)

How to Form “고”

To connect verbs using “고,” simply drop the verb ending “다” and add “고.” That’s it!

I eat and sleep : 나는 먹고 자요.
I sleep and eat: 나는 자고 먹어요.

No need to conjugate, simply drop 다 from the original verb, and put 고.

There are two main usages of “고”:

(1) Sequence of Actions:

– 고” works as “and,” indicating the sequence of actions
– 오늘 숙제하고, 공부하고, 넷플릭스 볼 거야. Today I will do homework, study and watch Neflix.

(2) Indicating “After”:

“고” can also mean “after.”

먹고 자요: After eating, I sleep.
자고 먹어요: After sleeping, I eat.


Very simple and straightforward, right?
Let’s look at a few more examples:



Examples!

(1) 친구랑 커피를 마시고, 영화를 보고, 저녁을 먹었어요.
I drank coffee, watched a movie, and then had dinner with my friend.

*As you can notice, we only conjugate the last verb for tense (e.g., 먹다 -> 먹었어요 for past tense).
If you want, you can conjugate each verb to past tense: 마셨고, 영화를 봤고, 저녁을 먹었어요. However, this sounds a bit unnatural. We only change the tense for emphasis.

(2) 오늘 아침에 운동하고, 아침을 먹고, 출근했어요.
This morning, I worked out, ate breakfast, and then went to work.


(3) 주말에는 친구들이랑 쇼핑하고, 식사를 할 거예요.
On the weekend, I will go shopping, and then have a meal with my friends.|


(4) 요리를 하고, 지금 음악을 듣고 있어요.
After cooking, I am listening to music right now.

(5) 샤워를 했고, 이제 잘 거예요.
I already showered, now I will sleep
*When there are two different tenses like this, you can conjugate the verb before ‘고’ to the past tense for clarification


(6) 어제 인터뷰는 잘 끝났고, 이제 발표만 남았어요.
Yesterday’s interview went well(ended well), and now only the presentation is left.
*끝나다 – to end, finish *남다 – to be left.



From time to time, you will hear “그리고” as well, which means “And,” and it’s used to connect sentences. This grammar “고” is a shortened form of “그리고.”

I study. And I sleep : 공부해요. 그리고 자요 = 공부하고 자요.
I exercised. And I went home: 운동했어요. 그리고 집에 갔어요. =운동하고 집에 갔어요.

The key point here is that “그리고” is not commonly used unless you want to specifically emphasize the “and” part in the sentence. In everyday Korean conversation, “고” is preferred for its simplicity and efficiency in connecting actions or states.



Try to connect these sentences!



(1) 내일 시험이 끝나요. 그리고 학기도 끝날 거예요.
(Tomorrow, the exam is over. And the semester will also end.)


(2) 다음 달에는 한국어 수업 들을 거예요, 그리고 한국 친구들 만들거예요.
(Next month, I will take Korean classes, and I will make Korean friends.)


(3) 방금 퇴근 했어요. 이제 쉴 거예요.
(I just got off work. And now I will rest.)


(4) 추워요. 그리고 배도 고파요.
(It’s cold. And I’m also hungry.)


(5) 어제 아팠어요. 그리고 열도 났어요.
(I was sick yesterday. And I had a fever too.)




The answer!




(1) 내일 시험이 끝나고 학기도 끝날 거예요.
(Tomorrow, the exam is over, and the semester will also end.)


(2) 다음 달에는 한국어 수업 듣고 한국 친구들 만들거예요.
(Next month, I will take Korean classes and make Korean friends.)
*들을 거고 is also correct! (들을 거예요 -> 들을 거고)


(3) 방금 퇴근 했고 이제 쉴 거예요.
(I just got off work and now I will rest.)


(4) 춥고 배도 고파요.
(It’s cold and I’m also hungry.)
* Remember, when you use “고” to connect verbs or adjectives, you don’t conjugate them. 춥다 is the base form of 추워요. So, we put 고 after 춥 (춥고).



(5) 어제 아팠고 열도 났어요.
(I was sick yesterday and I had a fever too.)
* 어제 아프고 열도 났어요 is also correct





Easy peasy, right? Now, let’s learn how to connect nouns and sentences.

하고 / 이랑&랑 / 와&과 : and (with nouns)

We’ve already covered this one time, to connect nouns we have 3 options:
하고 / 이랑 or 랑 / 와 or 과

These 3 words also mean : with!

Depends on whether a noun ends in a batchim or vowel, you can use either 이랑/랑 or 와/과.

For nouns ending in a vowel, you can use 랑 / 와 .
사과랑 바나나 (apple and banana)
엄마와 아빠 (mom and dad), also mean (mom with dad)

For nouns ending in a batchim, you can use 이랑 / 과 .
빵이랑 밥 (bread and rice), it can also mean (bread with rice!)
동생과 누나 ( younger sibling and older sister)

You can use 하고 regardless of the batchim:

빵하고 바나나 (bread and banana) / (bread with banana)
바나나하고 빵 (banana and bread)


Then what are the differences among these 3 하고, 이랑/랑, 와/과?


“하고, 이랑/랑” are widely used in spoken Korean, while 와/과 is a bit more formal and commonly used in written language. Perhaps due to its formal nature, 와/과 is often used by older generations! Me Being in my 20s, personally, I rarely use 와/과! And when describing connections with people, I mainly use 이랑/랑.

Examples!

(1) 친구랑 만나고, 파스타랑 피자(를) 먹었어요.
I met my friend and we ate past and pizza.

(2) 이번 주말에 엄마하고 쇼핑하고 공원에 갈 거예요.
This weekend, I will shop and go to the park with my mom.

(3) 가끔 동생하고 같이 카페랑 도서관에 가요.
Sometimes I go to the cafe and library with my younger sibling.

(4) 스테이크랑 감자튀김이 제일 먹고 싶어요.
I want to eat steak and french fries the most.

(5) 주말에 강아지들이랑 산책하고, 낮잠 잘거예요.
On the weekend, I will walk the dogs and take a nap.

Part 2,
Practice making sentences

1. I cut the carrots then put (them) in the fridge along with the apples.
(cut: 자르다 / carrot:당근 / put: 넣다 / fridge: 냉장고/ along = together: 같이)

2. We will stay in Seoul for two days, then go to Busan
(stay=to be: 있다 / two days: 2일)

3. After taking a shower, I also did the dishes
(take a shower: 샤워하다/ do the dishes: 설거지(를) 하다)

4. I read a book then slept immediately
(immediately: 바로)

5. He played soccer with his friends and then went home. (casually!)
(play soccer: 축구하다)

6. I wanted to finish my work early and go to the gym. But I couldn’t!
(finish: 끝내다 / work: 일 / early: 빨리 / gym: 헬스장)

7. I had a conversation with my boss and learned a lot.
(have a conversation: 대화하다/ boss: 상사 / learn: 배우다 / a lot: 많이)

8. On the weekend, I won’t do anything and will just use my phone. (casually!)
(anything: 아무것도 / just = only :만 / use: 쓰다 (but use “to do” here!) / phone: 폰)

9. Korean winters are cold, very windy, and snows a lot as well.
(winter: 겨울 / be cold: 춥다/ windy: 바람이 불다/ snow: 눈(이) 오다)

10. Next year, I want to quit my job, learn English, make foreign friends, and travel the world. (casually!)
(Next year:내년 / quit a job : 일(을) 그만두다/ foreigner = foreign: 외국인/ travel: 여행하다/ world: 세계)

Thy these on your own first, before checking the answers!

These are the answers:

1. I cut the carrots then put (them) in the fridge along with the apples.
(cut: 자르다 / carrot:당근 / put: 넣다 / fridge: 냉장고/ along=together:같이)

당근(을) 자르고 냉장고에 사과랑 같이 넣었어요.

* Simply drop “다” from “자르다” and add “고”, becomes “자르고”
* You can say “사과하고 / 사과와” as well.

2. We will stay in Seoul for two days, then go to Busan
(stay=to be: 있다 / two days: 2일)

서울에 이일동안 있고, 부산에 갈 거예요.

* From “있다”, simply drop “다” and add “고”. -> 있고
* To say “2 days”, 이틀 is also commonly used. 이일 or 이틀!

3. After taking a shower, I also did the dishes.
(take a shower: 샤워하다/ do the dishes: 설거지(를) 하다)

샤워(를) 하고, 설거지도 했어요.

* To express “After”, we can use the 고 grammar!
* To express “also”, we can use 도!

4. I read a book then slept immediately
(immediately: 바로)

책 읽고 바로 잤어요!

* 바로 means “immediately,” “right away,” “directly,” “straight,” or “exactly.”

– 바로 갈게. (I will go right away.)
– 여기서 바로 집에 갈 거예요. (I will go directly home from here.)
– 책상은 창문 바로 옆에 있어요. (The desk is right next to the window.)
– 걔가 바로 그 사람이야 (He is exactly that person.)
– 바로 앉으세요. (Sit up straight.)

5. He played soccer with his friends and then went home. (casually!)
(play soccer: 축구하다)

걔는 친구들이랑 축구하고 집에 갔어.

* Informally, we can use 걔 for he or she.
* 친구들하고 / 친구들과 are also correct!



6. I wanted to finish my work early and go to the gym. But I couldn’t!
(finish: 끝내다 / work: 일 / early: 빨리 / gym: 헬스장)

일(을) 빨리 끝내고 헬스장에 가고 싶었어요. 근데 못 갔어요!

* I only conjugate the ending verb, 가다 -> 가고 싶었어요!(wanted to go)
* Here, finishing work is the first action, then going to the gym follows. So, we need to start the sentence with 일을 빨리 끝내다.
* To express “couldn’t” in Korean, use 못. “I couldn’t go” is 못 갔어요, and “I couldn’t do” is 못 했어요.

7. I had a conversation with my boss and learned a lot.
(have a conversation: 대화하다/ boss: 상사 / learn: 배우다 / a lot: 많이)

상사랑 대화(를) 하고 많이 배웠어요.


* In the previous post, I mentioned that we use the word “사장님” to refer to a CEO. However, I’ve realized that “상사” is also commonly used to refer to a boss. “상사” can refer to anyone who is above your position in the hierarchy, and it can mean a manager as well.
* 상사하고, 상사와 are also correct!

8. On the weekend, I won’t do anything and will just use my phone. (casually!)
(anything: 아무것도 / just = only :만 / use: 쓰다 (but use “to do” here!) / phone: 폰)

주말에 아무것도 안 하고 내 폰만 할 거야

* You’ve probably noticed I’ve been using the example of “doing nothing” a lot—it’s what I often want to do every weekend, haha! By now, you’re familiar with the phrase “doing nothing,” right?!. It can be expressed as “don’t do anything” = “아무것도 안 하다” in Korean.

* There are 3 words to express “phone” : 폰, 휴대폰, 핸드폰(hand-phone 😂)

* “Just use my phone” in Korean is expressed as “폰만 사용할 거야.”, which literally translates to “I will only use my phone.”

9. Korean winters are cold, very windy, and snows a lot as well.
(winter: 겨울 / be cold: 춥다/ windy: 바람이 불다/ snow: 눈(이) 오다)

한국 겨울은 춥고, 바람이 엄청 불고, 눈도 많이 와요.

* Don’t conjugate the verbs, just simply put “고”!

* The word ‘바람’ means ‘wind,’ and ‘불다’ means ‘to blow.’ Together, they form the phrase ‘바람이 불어요,’ which means ‘it’s windy.’

* very = really = 진짜, 엄청, 정말

10. Next year, I want to quit my job, learn English, make foreign friends, and travel the world. (casually!)
(Next year:내년 / quit a job : 일(을) 그만두다/ foreigner = foreign: 외국인/ travel: 여행하다/ world: 세계)

내년에 일(을) 그만두고, 영어(를) 배우고, 외국인 친구(를) 만들고, 세계(를) 여행하고 싶어요

* Wasn’t too hard, right?! 고 is pretty straightforward and easy. I hope you are following well so far!
* To make a friend can be expressed as ‘친구를 만들다’ or ‘사귀다!’ 사귀다 is also commonly used.
* ‘세계’ means ‘the world,’ and we also have another word ‘세상.’ They are synonyms, but when referring to traveling the world, we use ‘세계’ more. ‘세계 여행’ has become a term for ‘Traveling all over the world.’

Great job!
You’ve been doing an excellent job—keep up the good work!

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