haru Korean › Grammar › Level 1B › V-아서/어서
V-아서/어서 — one action, then the next — 'get up and …' · 'go there and …'
One action, then the next — 'get up and …' · 'go there and …'. Korean grammar for beginner learners — Level 1B, lesson 4: 왜 늦었어요? (Why were you late? — giving reasons).
What it means
This -아서/어서 looks the same as the reason one, but it joins two actions in order: the first happens, and the second happens there, or with what you got from the first. 도서관에 가서 공부해요 'I go to the library and study there.' 빵을 사서 먹었어요 'I bought some bread and ate it.' The same person does both actions, and the last verb carries the time: 어제 친구를 만나서 영화를 봤어요. You will use it most with 가다 · 오다, 만나다, 일어나다 · 앉다 · 서다 · 눕다, and with 사다 · 찍다 · 요리하다. -고 is different: it only lists two actions, so 빵을 사고 커피를 마셨어요 means two separate things. And unlike the reason -아서/어서, this one can come before a suggestion: 식당에 가서 같이 먹을까요?
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -아서 | ㅏ · ㅗ | 가다 + 아서 → 가서 |
| -어서 | other vowels | 서다 + 어서 → 서서 |
| 해서 | 하다 words | 요리하다 → 요리해서 |
Key points
- V-아서/어서 joins two actions in order, when the second one happens there or with what you got: 가서 · 만나서 · 일어나서 — 도서관에 가서 공부해요
- The same form as for reasons; -고 only lists two actions: 빵을 사서 먹어요 (that bread) · 빵을 사고 커피를 마셔요
Examples
- 아침에 일어나서 샤워해요.
- 도서관에 가서 공부해요. (도서관에서 공부해요.)
- 빵을 사서 먹었어요. (그 빵을 먹었어요.)
- 빵을 사고 커피를 마셨어요. (-고: 두 가지 일)
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 1B, lesson 10; Yonsei University Korean 1-2, lesson 17; Sogang University Korean 2A, lesson 3; Hongik University Korean 1B, lesson 7; Hanyang University Korean 1-2, lesson 7.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-아서/어서 — reasons — '…, so …' · 'because …'
- N부터 N까지 — from … to … — times, days and opening hours
- A/V-(으)니까 · N(이)니까 — reasons before advice or a suggestion — '…, so please …' · '…, so shall we …?'