Together · yesterday · connected actions · LESSON 3 / 4
-고: connect two familiar actions
Attach -고 to an action stem and finish with a polite verb.
Quick phrase
밥을 먹고 공부해요.I eat a meal and study.
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Connect familiar actions with -고, often translated as “and”. Remove 다 from the first dictionary verb and add 고: 먹다 → 먹고, 가다 → 가고, 공부하다 → 공부하고. Finish the sentence with a polite form.
I eat a meal and study.
I go to school and study Korean.
I studied Korean and read a book.
Examples in this unit are text-based. No pronunciation recording or automatic speaking score is used.
Useful basics on this page
I eat a meal. / I am eating a meal, in context.
I went to school yesterday.
In these simple examples, the final polite verb supplies the time context: 먹고 공부해요 versus 먹고 공부했어요. This does not mean earlier verbs can never carry their own tense. -고 can list actions or describe a sequence in context; it does not always mean “because” or require a strict chronological order. Notice noun + 하고 (친구하고) versus the verb stem plus 고 (공부하고).
Try it yourself
Start with 먹다. Choose the connecting form.
Start with 공부하다. Choose the connecting form.
In 밥을 먹고 공부했어요, which final form supplies the past context in this basic example?
Build “I eat a meal and study.”
…
Does -고 always mean “because”?
RETRIEVE BEFORE YOU REVEAL
Say it in your own time.
Connect eating a meal and studying. First use a present statement, then a past statement.
밥을 먹고 공부해요. 밥을 먹고 공부했어요.
This is your own speaking check; pronunciation is not recorded or graded.
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