3 · Linking clauses, further
Doing one thing, then another: -다가
interrupted action and switch
-다가 says that one action was under way when another took its place; -았/었다가 that something was done and then undone.
The ending goes straight on the stem and does not care whether the stem ends in a vowel or a consonant: 가다가, 먹다가, 하다가, 살다가. In speech the last syllable is often dropped: 자다 깼어요. The two clauses normally share their subject.
Without a past tense, -다가 means that the first action was still going on when the second began, and that it stopped there or was left unfinished: 책을 읽다가 잠이 들었어요, “I was reading and fell asleep”. With a verb of movement it means “on the way”: 학교에 가다가 친구를 만났어요, “on my way to school I met a friend”.
With the past tense inside, -았/었다가, the first action was completed before the second, and the second often reverses it or follows it in the same place: 창문을 열었다가 닫았어요, “I opened the window and then closed it again”; 시장에 갔다가 왔어요, “I went to the market and came back”. The one-syllable difference is the difference between 가다가, “while going”, and 갔다가, “having gone”.
English “while” tempts learners to use -다가 for two things done at once. That is -(으)면서: 음악을 들으면서 공부해요 is studying with music on, whereas 음악을 듣다가 공부해요 is listening to music and then switching to study. The tense of the whole sentence stands at the end; apart from -았/었다가, no other tense goes before -다가.
The form
| on the stem | 읽다가, 가다가, 하다가 |
| short form in speech | 자다 깼어요. |
| done, then reversed | 열었다가 닫았어요. |
| there and back | 갔다가 왔어요. |
| warning: if you keep on | 그러다가 다쳐요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
-다가 goes straight on the stem, after a vowel and a consonant alike.
밥을 먹다가 전화를 받았어요.I was in the middle of eating when I took a phone call.
Without a past tense, the first action was still going on when the second began.
학교에 가다가 친구를 만났어요.On my way to school I ran into a friend.
With -았/었다가, the first action was finished, and the second often undoes it.
불을 켰다가 다시 껐어요.I switched the light on and then off again.
Both clauses normally have the same subject.
동생이 숙제를 하다가 밖으로 나갔어요.My younger sibling was doing homework and then went out.
It also describes a situation that was going on and then stopped or changed.
비가 오다가 그쳤어요.It was raining, and then it stopped.
A closer look
On the way there, or there and back
With verbs of going and coming, the two forms draw two different maps. 은행에 가다가 is somewhere between home and the bank: whatever follows happened on the way. 은행에 갔다가 has arrived: whatever follows happened after the bank, and very often it is the way back — 은행에 갔다가 왔어요, “I have been to the bank”.
This is why 갔다 올게요 (or 갔다가 올게요) is the everyday way of saying “I will just pop out”: the speaker announces the trip and the return in one breath. 들렀다가 가다, “stop by somewhere on the way”, works the same way.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the first verb is a descriptive verb (an adjective)
-다가 describes a state that changed: it was one way, and then another.
아까는 조용하다가 지금은 시끄러워요.It was quiet a moment ago, and now it is noisy.
An adjective names no action that could be broken off, so the only thing that can switch is the state itself.
How to spot it
- -다가
- -았다가
- -었다가
- 가다가
- 갔다가
Example sentences
텔레비전을 보다가 잠이 들었어요.I fell asleep watching television.
집에 오다가 빵집에 들렀어요.On the way home I stopped at a bakery.
창문을 열었다가 추워서 닫았어요.I opened the window, then closed it because it was cold.
비가 오다가 갑자기 눈으로 바뀌었어요.It was raining, and then it suddenly turned to snow.
도서관에 갔다가 문이 닫혀서 그냥 왔어요.I went to the library, but it was closed, so I just came back.
일하다가 잠깐 쉬세요.Take a short break from your work.
7 more example sentences
길을 걷다가 넘어졌어요.I fell over while walking along the street.
요리를 하다가 손을 데었어요.I burnt my hand while cooking.
친구랑 이야기하다가 버스를 놓쳤어요.I was chatting with a friend and missed the bus.
편의점에 갔다가 올게요.I will pop to the convenience store and come back.
코트를 입었다가 더워서 벗었어요.I put my coat on, then took it off because it was warm.
회사에 다니다가 대학원에 들어갔어요.I was working for a company, and then I went to graduate school.
영화를 보다가 중간에 나왔어요.I walked out halfway through the film.
Worth knowing (1)
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A warning: keep that up and …
Followed by a bad outcome, -다가 turns into a warning: if the action goes on, this is where it ends. 그러다가, “carrying on like that”, is the stock form, and -다가는 makes the warning sharper.
그렇게 뛰다가 넘어져요.If you run like that, you will fall over.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
An English speaker who means “I study while listening to music” has said “I listen to music and then switch to studying”. -다가 means that one action gives way to the other; for two at the same time Korean uses -(으)면서.
Daga drops the first action for the second; with the past inside, the first was finished and then undone.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.