~고 and ~고 싶다
By Daniel Buckley · 9 minute read · TOPIK 1
Vocabulary
- 보다 - to see, to watch
- 싶다 - to want to (after ~고)
- 싸다 - to be cheap
- 맛있다 - to be delicious
- 씻다 - to wash
- 숙제 - homework
- 끝내다 - to finish (something)
- 바람 - wind
- 불다 - to blow
- 자다 - to sleep
보고 싶어요 turns up in every Korean drama, usually at an airport. It means "I miss you", and word for word it says "(I) want to see (you)".
That 고 does more than one job. On its own, ~고 joins two clauses like a plain "and". Followed by 싶다, it makes "want to". Both attach the same way, so once you can build one you can build the other.
Building ~고
~고 goes straight on the stem. Drop 다 from the dictionary form and add 고, with no 해요 form in between. 고 starts with a consonant, so irregular verbs don't change at all: 듣다 gives 듣고 and 춥다 gives 춥고.
Making the ~고 form
- Verbs and adjectives: drop 다, add 고.먹다 → 먹고가다 → 가고춥다 → 춥고
- Nouns: add 이고. After a vowel the 이 usually drops.학생 → 학생이고친구 → 친구고
Pick a verb
먹다먹먹고
Meaning 1: and, side by side
When the two clauses are two separate facts, ~고 lists them. Neither one really comes first, and you could swap them round. The clauses can also have different subjects, as in examples 2 to 4.
이 식당은 싸고 맛있어요.
This restaurant is cheap and delicious.
저는 학생이고 친구는 회사원이에요.
I am student and friend is office worker.
동생은 자고 저는 공부해요.
Younger sibling sleeps and I study.
오늘은 날씨가 춥고 바람이 많이 불어요.
Today weather is cold and wind blows a lot.
Meaning 2: and then
When both clauses are actions by the same person, ~고 usually means one happens and then the other. Now the order matters: swap the clauses and you've changed what happened.
밥을 먹고 학교에 가요.
(I) eat meal and then go to school.
손을 씻고 밥을 먹어요.
(I) wash hands and then eat meal.
숙제를 하고 텔레비전을 봤어요.
(I) did homework and then watched television.
어제 친구를 만나고 집에 왔어요.
Yesterday (I) met friend and then came home.
Look at example 3. 하고 has no past tense in it, even though the homework is finished. In an "and then" sentence the tense normally goes on the last verb and covers everything before it.
The side-by-side reading is different. Each clause there is its own fact, so each can have its own tense:
어제는 비가 왔고 오늘은 눈이 와요.
Yesterday rain came and today snow comes.
※ To start a new sentence with "and", use 그리고: 숙제를 했어요. 그리고 잤어요. It does the same job as ~고 across a full stop, and since these are two sentences, each has its own tense.
Side by side, or and then?
Try swapping the clauses in your head. If that changes the story, it's "and then".
이 옷은 싸고 예뻐요.
영화를 보고 잤어요.
저는 커피를 마시고 친구는 차를 마셔요.
숙제를 끝내고 집에 갔어요.
어제는 더웠고 오늘은 추워요.
손을 씻고 빵을 먹었어요.
~고요: one more thing
Korean lets you finish a sentence and then add to it. Put 요 on the ~고 form and it stands alone as a polite afterthought, meaning "and also this". It's a spoken habit, and it's how people add a second reason or detail without starting over.
An afterthought is its own fact, so it keeps its own tense: 먹었고요, if the thing already happened. Nouns work as they do with ~고, as in 학생이고요.
이 식당은 맛있어요. 값도 싸고요.
This restaurant is delicious. And the price is cheap too.
저는 학생이에요. 일도 하고요.
I am student. And (I) work too.
오늘은 집에 있을 거예요. 비도 오고요.
Today (I) will be at home. And rain is coming too.
어제 친구를 만났어요. 저녁도 먹었고요.
Yesterday (I) met friend. And (I) ate dinner too.
※ In speech 고요 often comes out as 구요, and you'll see that spelling in texts. 고요 is the correct one to write.
- A
그 식당 어때요?
That restaurant how is?
- B
맛있어요. 값도 싸고요.
Is delicious. Price too is cheap and.
- A
멀어요?
Is far?
- B
아니요, 학교 앞에 있어요. 사람도 많지 않고요.
No, is in front of school. People too not many and.
~고 싶다: want to
Put 싶다 after the ~고 form of a verb and you have "want to". 고 stays on the stem and never changes. 싶다 takes all the endings, and it behaves as an adjective: 싶어요, 싶었어요.
Making ~고 싶다
- Verbs: drop 다, add 고 싶다. Then conjugate 싶다.먹다 → 먹고 싶어요가다 → 가고 싶어요가다 → 가고 싶었어요가다 → 가고 싶지 않아요
Pick a verb
먹다먹먹고 싶어요
커피를 마시고 싶어요.
(I) want to drink coffee.
한국에 가고 싶어요.
(I) want to go to Korea.
뭐 먹고 싶어요?
What (do you) want to eat?
어제는 집에서 쉬고 싶었어요.
Yesterday (I) wanted to rest at home.
오늘은 나가고 싶지 않아요.
Today (I) don't want to go out.
※ The object can take 이/가 as well as 을/를: 커피를 마시고 싶어요, 커피가 마시고 싶어요. Both are right, and 이/가 leans a little harder on the thing you're craving. That's why it's usually 친구가 보고 싶어요 when you miss someone.
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
Your wants, not other people's
Korean treats a want as something only the person who has it can really know. So you state your own and you ask about other people's, but you don't normally state someone else's as fact.
친구가 가고 싶어요 sounds as if you've read your friend's mind. For other people Korean uses ~고 싶어 해요, "shows signs of wanting to", which comes in lesson 54. Until then, keep ~고 싶다 to "I" in statements and "you" in questions.
- A
주말에 뭐 하고 싶어요?
On weekend what want to do?
- B
영화를 보고 저녁을 먹고 싶어요.
Movie see, dinner want to eat.
- A
무슨 영화를 보고 싶어요?
What movie want to see?
- B
한국 영화를 보고 싶어요. 그리고 불고기를 먹고 싶어요.
Korean movie want to see. And bulgogi want to eat.
Look at B's first line. 싶어요 appears once, at the end, and it covers 보고 as well. That's the same thing the past tense did earlier: the end of a Korean sentence reaches back over everything joined with ~고.
Common mistakes
사과고 바나나를 먹었어요.
사과하고 바나나를 먹었어요.
~고 joins clauses. To join two nouns, use 하고 from lesson 14.
숙제를 했고 잤어요.
숙제를 하고 잤어요.
Not impossible, but 했고 sounds like two separate facts on a list. For one thing after another, the first verb stays bare and the last verb carries the tense.
물을 싶어요.
물을 마시고 싶어요.
싶다 needs a verb in front of it, so say what you want to do with the thing. To want to own something, use 갖고 싶다: 새 가방을 갖고 싶어요.
Check yourself
Quick check
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이 식당은 ___ 맛있어요. (싸다) This restaurant is cheap and delicious.
Drop 다, add 고.
Summary
| Dictionary | Stem | ~고 |
|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹고 |
| 가다 | 가 | 가고 |
| 공부하다 | 공부하 | 공부하고 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 듣고 |
| 춥다 | 춥 | 춥고 |
| 모르다 | 모르 | 모르고 |
| 살다 | 살 | 살고 |
Add 요 to the ~고 form for an afterthought, as in 싸고요. Add 싶어요 to the ~고 form of any verb for "I want to", as in 먹고 싶어요.
Now you can say
보고 싶어요.
(I) miss (you). (Literally: (I) want to see (you).)
밥을 먹고 커피를 마셔요.
(I) eat meal and then drink coffee.
뭐 하고 싶어요?
What (do you) want to do?
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