Korean Grammar Patterns

-다가

Meaning

while doing, then (switch / interruption)

How to use it

Attaches to a verb stem to show that one action is interrupted or switched to another, or that something happens in the middle of an ongoing action. The first action is usually stopped before completion. It can also warn of an unintended consequence ('if you keep doing X, Y might happen'), and the two clauses normally share the same subject.

-다가 보면/-다 보니 = 'as one keeps doing, one comes to…' (gradual realization).,Past form -았다가/었다가 means the first action fully completed before reversing (e.g. 갔다가 = went and then…).

Examples