haru Korean › Grammar › Level 2A › V-거나 V
V-거나 V — 'or' between two actions — 쉬거나 운동해요
'or' between two actions — 쉬거나 운동해요. Korean grammar for upper beginner learners — Level 2A, lesson 1: 오랜만이에요, 잘 지냈어요? (Long time no see — how have you been?).
What it means
-거나 joins two actions as 'or': 집에서 쉬거나 운동을 해요 — I rest at home or I exercise, one or the other. It goes straight onto the verb stem with no 받침 check — 쉬거나, 보거나, 먹거나, 읽거나 — and 듣다 stays 듣거나, because nothing changes before a consonant. Only the last verb carries the tense and the polite ending: 방학에 아르바이트를 하거나 여행을 갔어요. With the how-often words it describes your routine: 주말에 보통 영화를 보거나 책을 읽어요 · 가끔 친구를 만나거나 쇼핑을 해요.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -거나 | 받침 X | 쉬다 + 거나 → 쉬거나 |
| -거나 | 받침 O — 같아요 | 먹다 + 거나 → 먹거나 |
Key points
- V-거나 V — 'do A or do B': one of two actions (쉬거나 운동해요)
- Straight onto the verb stem — no 받침 check: 쉬거나 · 먹거나 · 읽거나
Examples
- 쉬다? 운동하다? 하나만 → 집에서 쉬거나 운동을 해요.
- 받침 O · X 같아요: 쉬거나 · 보거나 · 먹거나 · 읽거나 · 듣거나.
- 시제는 마지막 동사에만: 쉬거나 운동을 했어요.
- 주말에 보통 영화를 보거나 책을 읽어요. 가끔 친구를 만나거나 쇼핑을 해요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 2A, lesson 1; Yonsei University Korean 2-2, lesson 12; Sogang University Korean 1B, lesson 4; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-1, lesson 6; Hongik University Korean 2A, lesson 2; Hanyang University Korean 2-2, lesson 9.
Also in this lesson
- V-(으)려고 (1B 복습·확장) — 'in order to' — saying your purpose
- N(이)라고 해요 — 'I'm called …' — names, and what things and people are called
- N(이)나 N — 'or' between two nouns — 커피나 차