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Grammar Intermediate TOPIK II · Level 3–4 Intermediate Korean 1 · Unit 16

-어 가지고

-어 가지고: And Then / With That Result — Spoken Link

Auxiliary connective: prior action’s result is kept or enables the next action — common in spoken Korean.

Before this, make sure you know: -아서 / -어서 , -고 , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When Form Example
ㅏ/ㅗ verb stem -아 가지고 사 가지고 / 와 가지고
Other stems -어 가지고 만들어 가지고 / 찾아 가지고
하다 (hada) verbs -해 가지고 준비해 가지고 / 예약해 가지고
Spoken shortening -어 갖고 사 갖고 왔어요

-어 가지고 is the spoken “and then / with that done” link. You finish action A; that result stays in play so B can happen — packing, buying, preparing, then moving on.

Curriculum gloss: and then, with that — spoken and a bit casual. 우리말샘 lists auxiliary 가지다 in the -어 가지고 construction: the prior action’s result is maintained, or it enables what follows.

Shape

Vowel harmony mirrors -아서 / -어서:

StemFormExample
ㅏ/ㅗ-아 가지고사 가지고, 와 가지고
Other-어 가지고만들어 가지고, 찾아서 가지고 → 찾아 가지고
하다-해 가지고예약해 가지고
짐을 싸 가지고 나왔어요.
표를 사 가지고 기다렸어요.
이름을 적어 가지고 제출했어요.
준비해 가지고 오세요.

Spoken short form: 사 갖고, 해 갖고.

Versus -아서/어서

FormFeel
-아서 / -어서Neutral sequence / reason — fine in writing
-어 가지고Same broad “A then B / A so B” zone, more spoken
예약을 해서 안심이에요.           fine, neutral
예약을 해 가지고 안심이에요.     casual speech colour

Do not treat them as enemies. Treat -어 가지고 as the chatty cousin you hear in travel packing talk.

Versus bare -고 and -고서

-고 can just list. -고서 stresses ordered succession. -어 가지고 highlights result still in hand — often literally (bought → brought) or situationally (prepared → arrived ready).

사고 갔어요.                 could be loose ‘bought and went’
사 가지고 갔어요.            bought, and with that (purchase) went
알아보고서 예약했어요.       -고서: check first, then book

Not -어다가

Same unit has -어다가: do it there, bring the result here. -어 가지고 is broader spoken linkage; -어다가 is the carry/transfer map.

마트에서 사다가 왔어요.       fetch-and-bring path
사 가지고 친구 집에 갔어요.   bought and (with that) went to a friend’s

Quick checks

  1. Harmony like -아서: 아/어/해 가지고.
  2. Prefer it in speech; prefer -아서 / -어서 in careful writing.
  3. Do not confuse lexical 가지다 (‘have’) with this auxiliary chain.

Ask: did A leave a result that B rides on, in casual talk? If yes, -어 가지고 is at home.

Do not confuse it with

-아서 / -어서

because (statement only, never a command)

-고서

and then — where the first action shapes the second

-고

and — listing and plain sequence, with no causal claim

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 여행 가방을 잃어버리지 않도록 가방에 이름표를 달았어요 (I put a name tag on my suitcase so I don't lose it.) — Intermediate Korean 1, Unit 16, on the theme of Preparing for travel and packing. These come with it:

-던데① I noticed, and — reporting what you saw, inviting a response -어다가 doing it there and bringing it here

Words used above

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-어 가지고-eo gajigoand then / with that result (spoken)
-어 갖고-eo gatgoshortened spoken form
결과gyeolgwaresult
구어gueospoken style
짐jimluggage / packed stuff

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. 만들어 가지고 갔어요 roughly means…

2. Why not always replace -아서 with -어 가지고?

3. Which is the natural 하다 form?

Common questions

Is this the verb 가지다 ‘to have’?

Same stem, different job. Here it is an auxiliary after -아/어: result kept / next action enabled. Lexical 가방을 가지고 is ordinary ‘have/take’.

갖고 vs 가지고?

갖고 is a spoken shortening. Same meaning layer; even more casual on the page.

vs -고서?

goseo is a clearer ‘first then second’ connective. -어 가지고 leans spoken and result-carrying.

Can adjectives take it?

Dictionary allows verb or adjective before -어 가지고. Classroom examples are mostly action chains (pack, buy, prepare).