-아/어 가다 -아/어 오다 Continuing: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Build -아/어 가다 and -아/어 오다 on a verb stem, including 공부하다, 되다 and 사다.
• Say that a change is moving ahead, or that an effort has lasted until now.
• Choose between 가다, 오다 and the progressive -고 있다.
• Use the literal sense, as in 사 가요 and 사 와요, without mixing the two senses.

Prerequisites: the lesson on -아/어 놓다 -아/어 두다, which teaches the same vowel rule, and the progressive -고 있다. Time: about 15 minutes.

Key facts

• The main verb comes first, and 가다 or 오다 follows it as an auxiliary.
• 가다 looks ahead from now: the process goes on from this moment.
• 오다 looks back from now: the process has run up to this moment.
• The vowel rule is the same as for -아요/어요: 아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, and 어 after other vowels.
• The same forms also have a literal meaning: "do it and take it along" or "do it and bring it here".

Listen to the two model sentences for this lesson.

The next section defines the patterns and shows what they mean.

What Does -아/어 가다 -아/어 오다 Continuing Mean?

-아/어 가다 and -아/어 오다 describe a process seen from the present moment. An auxiliary verb is a verb that follows a main verb and adds a meaning of its own. In 늘어 가다, the main verb is 늘다 ("increase") and the auxiliary is 가다 ("go").

The ordinary meaning of 가다 is "go" and of 오다 is "come". As auxiliaries they keep the idea of direction, but the direction is in time. Picture a timeline with "now" in the middle. 가다 points forward: the process leaves the present and goes on. 오다 points backward: the process arrives at the present from earlier.

The patterns have two uses that are easy to tell apart.

• A process. The verb names a change or an effort. 날이 점점 밝아 와요 means "Day is gradually dawning". 삼 년 동안 서울에 살아 왔어요 means "I have lived in Seoul for three years".
• A literal action. You do something and then go or come. 커피를 사 가요 means "I buy coffee and take it with me". 커피를 사 왔어요 means "I bought coffee and brought it here".

A First Example

Here are two sentences, one for each direction.

Notice that the first sentence is about a change in the thing (my Korean), and the second is about an effort by a person. Both are processes, and neither is a single point in time. The next section shows how the patterns are formed.

How Does -아/어 가다 -아/어 오다 Work?

The rule has two steps: attach 아 or 어 to the stem of the main verb, then add 가다 or 오다 and conjugate it. The stem is the verb without its dictionary ending -다. For 늘다 the stem is 늘.

1. Choose 아 or 어 by the last vowel of the stem. After ㅏ or ㅗ use 아. After every other vowel use 어. 하다 uses its own form, 해.
2. Add the auxiliary 가다 or 오다. 늘어 가다, 공부해 오다.
3. Conjugate the auxiliary for tense and speech level. 가요 and 와요 (polite present), 갔어요 and 왔어요 (polite past).

Pattern Table

Two points explain most of the table. First, a stem that ends in a vowel merges with 아 or 어: 사 + 아 stays 사, and 크 + 어 becomes 커. Second, 되다 is written 돼 before 요 or 가다, because 되어 contracts to 돼: 다 돼 가요. In speech a final consonant links to the next syllable, so 늘어 is said [느러] and 밝아 is said [발가].

How Do 가다 and 오다 Change?

Only the auxiliary changes with tense and speech level. The main verb stays as 늘어. The next table shows the forms you will use most.

The most common forms are 가요 for a change that is going on now and 왔어요 for an effort that lasted until now. The next section builds one sentence from scratch.

Worked Example: Building 지금까지 열심히 공부해 왔어요

To say that you have studied hard until now, start from the dictionary verb and add the pattern in five steps.

1. Pick the main verb. "Study" is 공부하다.
2. Find the stem and its form. The stem is 공부하, and 하 + 어 becomes 해: 공부해.
3. Choose the direction. The effort began in the past and reaches the present, so use 오다. 공부해 오다 means "have been studying up to now".
4. Choose the tense and level. The action has been under way and is described from now, so use the polite past: 왔어요.
5. Add the time and manner words. 지금까지 ("until now") and 열심히 ("hard") fit the idea of a stretch of time. The result is 지금까지 열심히 공부해 왔어요.

You'll know it worked when the verb pair ends in 왔어요, 공부해 stands directly before it, and the sentence has a time phrase such as 지금까지, 삼 년 동안 or 계속. The same steps give 이 가게는 오십 년 동안 문을 열어 왔어요, "This shop has been open for fifty years". For the particle in 까지, see 까지 until particle.

For a forward process, pick 가다 and a signal adverb such as 점점 ("gradually") or 조금씩 ("little by little"): 아이가 점점 커 가요 means "The child is growing up bit by bit".

The next section compares the patterns with the forms learners confuse them with.

How Is -아/어 가다/오다 Different from Similar Forms?

Three ways of describing an action over time are close. Progressive -고 있다 is a snapshot of an action in progress. -아/어 오다 is the stretch of time that led to now. -아/어 가다 is the stretch that goes on from now.

Another close form is -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다 experience, which says that you have done something at least once: 한국어를 공부한 적이 있어요 means "I have studied Korean (at some time)". It does not say the study lasted until now. 공부해 왔어요 does. Compare the two when you want to say "for a long time".

The state form -아/어 있다 state is different again: it describes the state that results from a change, such as 문이 열려 있어요, "The door is open".

The Literal Sense: Take along or Bring

The same forms also work as two verbs in a row. The direction depends on the speaker.

In a spoken future, a tense consonant appears after -(으)ㄹ, so 사 갈 거예요 is said [사 갈꺼예요]. Compare this with the purpose form 사러 가요, "I go to buy". With 사 가요, you buy first and then go. With 사러 가요, you go for the purpose of buying.

The next section explains which verbs and adverbs fit and what to avoid.

Which Verbs and Adverbs Go with the Pattern?

The process sense fits two groups of verbs, and each has a typical partner word.

Some examples show the groups at work. 점점 추워져 가요 means "It is getting colder and colder", with 추워지다 as the main verb. 숙제가 거의 다 돼 가요 [숙쩨가 거의 다 돼 가요] means "My homework is almost done". 다 먹어 가요 means "I am nearly finished eating". And 그 노래는 오랫동안 사랑받아 왔어요 means "That song has been loved for a long time".

A few combinations are written as single words. 돌아가다 and 돌아오다 mean "return" in the sense of going or coming back. 살아가다 means "to live (one's life)", and 가져오다 means "to bring". Dictionaries list them as single words, so write them without a space, even though 돌다 + 아 + 가다 would suggest three parts. The spelling rules also allow the attached spelling for other combinations in many cases.

Some verbs do not fit the process sense. A sudden or single event has no stretch of time, so 갑자기 늘어 가요 sounds odd. For a sudden change, use the plain verb: 갑자기 늘었어요.

What this lesson does not cover. The result of an unwanted action (-고 말다) and the preparation patterns (-아/어 놓다) have their own lessons. The related pages are -고 말다 end up and -아/어 놓다 -아/어 두다.

An honest limit. The choice between 가다 and 오다 depends on the speaker's viewpoint, and both can sometimes be used for the same event. Pick 오다 when you look back at what led to now, and 가다 when you look ahead. Time words usually settle the choice.

The next section lists the errors that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -아/어 가다/오다?

Learners make five predictable mistakes. Each has a reason and a fix.

Learners often read 가다 as "go and do". Actually 먹어 가요 is not "I go to eat". The purpose is shown with -(으)러: 먹으러 가요. 다 먹어 가요 means "I am almost done eating". Fix: for a purpose, use -(으)러 가다.

Learners often pick the wrong direction. Actually an effort that lasted until now needs 오다. Wrong: 삼 년 동안 공부해 가요. Right: 삼 년 동안 공부해 왔어요. Fix: ask whether you look back from now (오다) or forward from now (가다).

Learners often use the pattern for a sudden event. Actually it needs a stretch of time. Wrong: 갑자기 추워져 가요. Right: 점점 추워져 가요 or 갑자기 추워졌어요. Fix: add 점점 or 조금씩, or switch to the plain past for a sudden event.

Learners often mix up 사 가다 and 사 오다. Actually the direction depends on where the speaker is. Wrong: 집에 오는 길에 빵을 사 갔어요 for "I bought bread on the way home and brought it". Right: 빵을 사 왔어요. Fix: use 오다 when the thing comes to where you are now, and 가다 when it goes somewhere else.

Learners often use the wrong vowel. Actually the vowel follows the stem. Wrong: 늘아 가요 or 밝어 와요. Right: 늘어 가요 and 밝아 와요. Fix: look at the last vowel of the stem.

Practice puts these rules into your own sentences, as the next section shows.

Practice and Answers

Complete the four tasks, then compare your answers with the key.

Task 1: choose 아 or 어. Write the form with 가요.

1. 늘다
2. 변하다
3. 익다
4. 크다

Task 2: fix the error. Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 오 년 동안 한국어를 공부해 가요. (the meaning is "I have studied Korean for five years")
2. 점심을 먹어 가요. (the meaning is "I am going to eat lunch")
3. 갑자기 늘어 가요.

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "My homework is almost done." and "I bought fruit and brought it home."

Task 4: write your own. Write one sentence about something that is changing around you, and one about something you have done for a long time.

Answer key

1. (1) 늘어 가요 (2) 변해 가요 (3) 익어 가요 (4) 커 가요
2. (1) 오 년 동안 한국어를 공부해 왔어요. (2) 점심을 먹으러 가요. (3) 점점 늘어 가요. (or 갑자기 늘었어요.)
3. 숙제가 거의 다 돼 가요. 과일을 사 왔어요.
4. Sample answers: 날씨가 점점 따뜻해져 가요. ("The weather is getting warmer.") 십 년 동안 이 일을 해 왔어요. ("I have done this job for ten years.") Any verb of change or effort is correct if the vowel matches the stem and the direction fits the time word.

If task 1 was correct, you have the vowel rule. If task 2 was hard, return to the comparison table and ask whether the verb shows a purpose, a direction or a process. The next section points you to what comes after this lesson.

What Should You Learn after -아/어 가다 -아/어 오다 Continuing?

After -아/어 가다 -아/어 오다 continuing, learn -고 말다 end up, which marks a result you did not want. If the time words in this lesson felt new, read korean time adverbs 이미 벌써 아직 곧 next. To review how a prepared state differs from a process, return to -아/어 놓다 -아/어 두다.

For a wider view, the parent page Korean auxiliary verbs lists every lesson in learning order.

This lesson covers -아/어 가다 and -아/어 오다 in the polite and linking forms. It does not cover the related -아/어 나가다. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text and spoken forms on this page were machine-generated and reviewed and signed off by Min-ji Park on 15 October 2026. Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does -아/어 가다/오다 Mean?

-아/어 가다 shows a process that moves forward from the present, as in 한국어가 점점 늘어 가요, "My Korean is gradually improving". -아/어 오다 shows a process that has run from the past up to now, as in 삼 년 동안 공부해 왔어요, "I have been studying for three years". Both can also mean "do and take along".

How Do I Form -아/어 가다/오다?

Take the verb stem and add 아 after the vowels ㅏ and ㅗ, or 어 after any other vowel. Then add 가다 or 오다 as the next word and conjugate it. 늘다 becomes 늘어 가요, 공부하다 becomes 공부해 왔어요, and 사다 becomes 사 왔어요. Choose 가다 for what lies ahead and 오다 for what led to now.

What Is the Most Common Mistake with -아/어 가다/오다?

The most common mistake is reading them as plain motion. 먹어 가요 does not mean "I go to eat". The purpose form 먹으러 가요 does. 다 먹어 가요 means "I am nearly finished eating". A second mistake is choosing the wrong direction, such as 공부해 가요 for "I have studied until now", which needs 공부해 왔어요.

How Is -아/어 오다 Different from -고 있다?

-고 있다 says an action is in progress at this moment: 공부하고 있어요. -아/어 오다 says it has been going on for a while and has reached now: 공부해 왔어요. The first is a snapshot, and the second is a stretch of time. Add a time phrase such as 지금까지 or 삼 년 동안 to the second one.

Do I Use -아/어 가다/오다 in Speech, Writing or Both?

Both. 다 돼 가요 and 사 왔어요 are everyday speech. In writing, 해 왔다 and 변해 가고 있다 are common in essays, news and speeches, where they describe long processes. 변해 가고 있다 combines the pattern with -고 있다 to stress that the change is still under way.

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