Learn Korean: 그만 + Verb + 고

Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern 그만 + Verb + 고. We use this to tell someone to stop doing something and start doing something else instead. It can be a friendly suggestion or a harsh command. For example, if my brother keeps on sleeping and does nothing to help maintain cleanliness at home, I would reprimand him and say Stop sleeping and do some chores. The main verbs are 자다 (to sleep) and 집안일 하다 (to do some chores). 그만 is the action that must be stopped so we add it before 자다. We take the verb stem (자) and attach 고 (그만 자고). Then we add the verb that must be done instead. The actual sentence is 그만 자고 집안일 해(요). We can add 좀 before the verb to add the nuance please, for god’s sake. We can also use the high polite form (하세요) and low casual form 해라).

TV 그만 좀 보고 숙제 해.

Stop watching TV. Do your homework.

그만 먹고 다이어트 좀 해.

Stop eating. Go on a diet.

 

그만 울고 정신 차려.

Stop crying. Get back to your senses.