Connecting Sentences · -고, -지만, -아서/어서
3. Examples
Example 1 — And, and then with -고
아침을 먹고 학교에 가요.
a-chi-meul meok-go hak-gyo-e ga-yo.
→ I eat breakfast and go to school.
저는 학생이고 동생은 회사원이에요.
jeo-neun hak-saeng-i-go dong-saeng-eun hoe-sa-wo-ni-e-yo.
→ I am a student and my younger sibling is an office worker.
이 집은 크고 깨끗해요.
i ji-beun keu-go kkae-kkeu-tae-yo.
→ This house is big and clean.
친구를 만나고 영화를 봤어요.
chin-gu-reul man-na-go yeong-hwa-reul bwa-sseo-yo.
→ I met a friend and watched a movie.고 either lists things, as in 크고 깨끗해요, or puts actions in order, as in 만나고 봤어요. Nouns use 이고 after a consonant ending, as in 학생이고.
In the fourth sentence only the last verb is in the past. 만나고 stays in the plain form, but both actions happened in the past.
Example 2 — But with -지만
이 가방은 예쁘지만 비싸요.
i ga-bang-eun ye-ppeu-ji-man bi-ssa-yo.
→ This bag is pretty, but expensive.
한국어는 어렵지만 재미있어요.
han-gu-geo-neun eo-ryeop-ji-man jae-mi-i-sseo-yo.
→ Korean is difficult, but fun.
김치는 맵지만 맛있어요.
gim-chi-neun maep-ji-man ma-si-sseo-yo.
→ Kimchi is spicy, but delicious.
날씨는 춥지만 눈이 안 와요.
nal-ssi-neun chup-ji-man nu-ni an wa-yo.
→ The weather is cold, but it does not snow.
어제는 바빴지만 오늘은 한가해요.
eo-je-neun ba-ppat-ji-man o-neu-reun han-ga-hae-yo.
→ I was busy yesterday, but I am free today.지만 sits right after the stem and the contrast comes after it. A good way to test it is to put "but" in the English sentence. If "and" sounds wrong, 지만 is the right choice.
The last sentence shows that 지만 can follow a past stem, as in 바빴지만. This is possible because 지만 is a plain contrast. The tense rule for 아서/어서 is stricter, as you will see below.
Example 3 — Reasons with -아서/어서
어제 바빠서 못 갔어요.
eo-je ba-ppa-seo mot ga-sseo-yo.
→ I was busy yesterday, so I could not go.
피곤해서 일찍 잤어요.
pi-gon-hae-seo il-jjik ja-sseo-yo.
→ I was tired, so I slept early.
비가 와서 집에 있었어요.
bi-ga wa-seo ji-be i-sseo-sseo-yo.
→ It rained, so I stayed home.
음식이 맛있어서 많이 먹었어요.
eum-si-gi ma-si-sseo-seo ma-ni meo-geo-sseo-yo.
→ The food was delicious, so I ate a lot.
길이 막혀서 늦었어요.
gi-ri ma-kyeo-seo neu-jeo-sseo-yo.
→ The road was jammed, so I was late.Each first half is the cause, and each second half is the result. The result verb carries the past tense: 갔어요, 잤어요, 있었어요.
바쁘다, 오다, 하다 and 맛있다 show different forms. 바빠서 drops ㅡ, 와서 merges, 피곤해서 uses 해서, and 맛있어서 takes 어서 after the ㅣ vowel.
Example 4 — Sequence and mixing the endings
시장에 가서 과일을 샀어요.
si-jang-e ga-seo gwa-i-reul sa-sseo-yo.
→ I went to the market and bought fruit.
친구를 만나서 같이 밥을 먹었어요.
chin-gu-reul man-na-seo ga-chi ba-beul meo-geo-sseo-yo.
→ I met a friend and we ate a meal together.
집에 와서 샤워했어요.
ji-be wa-seo sya-wo-hae-sseo-yo.
→ I came home and took a shower.
비싸지만 맛있어서 자주 먹어요.
bi-ssa-ji-man ma-si-sseo-seo ja-ju meo-geo-yo.
→ It is expensive, but it is delicious, so I eat it often.In the first three sentences, the first action is a step toward the second, so 아서/어서 sounds natural. The subject is the same in both halves.
The fourth sentence joins two endings. 지만 gives the contrast, and 어서 gives the reason. You can chain endings like this when the ideas fit together.