haru Korean › Grammar › Level 2A › V-다가
V-다가 — doing one thing, then something else — 'go along and then …' · 'in the middle of …'
Doing one thing, then something else — 'go along and then …' · 'in the middle of …'. Korean grammar for upper beginner learners — Level 2A, lesson 7: 길을 잃으면 어떻게 해요? (What if I get lost? — asking the way).
What it means
-다가 links two actions when the second one starts while the first is still going on. In directions it means 'go along … and then': 쭉 가다가 사거리에서 왼쪽으로 도세요 'go straight on, and at the crossroads turn left'. In a story it means you were in the middle of something when it stopped or something else happened: 음악을 듣다가 못 내렸어요 'I was listening to music and missed my stop', 밥을 먹다가 전화를 받았어요 'I was eating when a call came, and I answered it'. The form is easy: take 다 off the verb and add 다가, with or without 받침 — 가다가, 먹다가. Nothing changes in front of it, not even ㄷ or ㄹ verbs: 걷다가, 듣다가, 살다가. The same person does both actions, and the tense or the request goes on the last verb only: 보다가 잤어요, 가다가 도세요. -았/었다가, for an action that was already finished, is a different meaning that comes in Level 3.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -다가 | 동사 — 받침 O · X · ㄷ · ㄹ 모두 같아요 | 가다 + 다가 → 가다가 |
Key points
- V-다가 + V — you are doing one thing, and then (in the middle of it) the next thing happens: 가다가 도세요 · 듣다가 못 내렸어요
- Take off 다 and add 다가, with or without 받침 (가다가 · 먹다가 · 걷다가) — the tense and -(으)세요 go on the last verb only
Examples
- 쭉 가요. + 사거리에서 왼쪽으로 돌아요. → 쭉 가다가 사거리에서 왼쪽으로 도세요.
- 음악을 들어요. + 못 내렸어요. → 음악을 듣다가 못 내렸어요.
- 가다 → 가다가. 먹다 → 먹다가. 걷다 → 걷다가. 살다 → 살다가.
- 밥을 먹다가 전화를 받았어요.
- 영화를 보다가 잤어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 2A, lesson 7; Yonsei University Korean 2-2, lesson 11; Sogang University Korean 2A, lesson 4; Hongik University Korean 2B, lesson 7; Hanyang University Korean 2-1, lesson 6; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-2, lesson 10.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-(으)ㄴ/는지 알다 · 모르다 — do you know where …? — a question inside a sentence
- V-(으)려면 — if you want to … — asking how, and giving advice
- A/V-(으)ㄹ 것 같다 — I think it will … — guessing what is going to happen