After, and then, and so
-고 나서 expresses the finishing of one behavior followed by the beginning of a subsequent behavior and thus corresponds to 'do (something) after', 'upon finishing' or 'and then' in English. Although in some cases -고 can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence, such as in 일을 나서 쉬세요 and 일을 하고 쉬세요, the inclusion of -고 나서 instead of simply -고 helps clarify the fact that the first behavior has completely ended.
Because -고 나서 expresses temporal order, it can only be used with verbs.
Further, when the subjects of the first and second clauses are the same in sentences using the motion verbs 가다 (to go), 오다 (to come), 들어가다 (to enter), 들어오다 (to exit), 나가다 (to leave), 나오다 (to emerge [from]), 올라가다 (to go up), and 내려가다 (to go down), and the verbs 일어 나다 (to get/stand up), 앉다 (to sit), 눕다 (to lie down), and 만나다 (to meet), -아/어서 is used in place of -고 and -고 나서.
Indicates that an action or event happens after another action or event.
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