Middle School - Grade 7
Lesson 6: "After..." (Emphasis on Completion)
-고 나서
"After this, THEN that."
You already learned **-(으)ㄴ 후에** (Grade 5, Lesson 6) which means "after."
**-고 나서** is very similar, but it adds an emphasis that the first action **completely finished** before the second action began. It makes the sequence of events crystal clear.
Think of `나서` as meaning "and *then*..." or "after *that*..."
The Conjugation Rules
This is one of the easiest rules to learn! It attaches to action verbs.
All Verb Stems
... + 고 나서
하다 하고 나서
"After doing..."
먹다 먹고 나서
"After eating..."
Examples in Action
COMMON EXAMPLE
숙제를 하고 나서 게임을 했어요.
After finishing my homework, I played a game.
(This emphasizes that the homework was 100% done first.)
COMMON EXAMPLE
밥을 먹고 나서 이를 닦아요.
After eating, I brush my teeth.
COMPARING
숙제를 하고 게임을 했어요.
I did my homework and then played a game. (Simple sequence)
숙제를 한 후에 게임을 했어요.
After doing homework, I played a game. (General "after")
Coming Up Next...
You can now talk about things happening "while" and "after." Next, you'll learn how to talk about the entire "duration" of an action, using "during..."