What is the proper use of 있고?

[jplato]

Listening to my colleagues' rapid-fire Korean, I always pick up on the word 있고. It was used in Beginner S2 #19, but there was no discussion of its use. Google Translate says it means "and", but the translation in the lesson notes suggests it means "have"

근데, 왜 너는 여자친구가 있고, 나는 여자친구가 없어?
Then, why do you have a girlfriend and I don't?

What's the real meaning and when is 있고 typically used?

[holdfast]

있 comes from 있다 and 고 used as a conjunction means and. you can use 고 with just about anything, not just 있다. so the real grammatical construction here is ~고 not 있고. they translated it as "have" because of 있다 not ~고.

there are many ways to say and, but 고 is used just as often as any others. more examples:

집에 영화를 있고 맥주도 있어요 - i have a movie and beer at my house.

어제 친구 마났고 공원에 갔어요 - yesterday i met a friend and went to the park.

i hope that helps (:
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[javiskefka]

It's a combination of the verb 있다 to exist, to have and the conjunction -고. So in the sentence you provided it means "have, and".

There's no specific context that requires the word 있고. You would just attach the -고 suffix to the end of a sentence that uses the verb 있다 if you wanted to continue your thought.

Edit: Beaten by Emily

[yhenry]