Korean grammar patterns › Level 2
-다가
while doing … (then): an action is interrupted or switched
Level 2 · TOPIK I · beginner
How to use it
The first action is in progress and then stops, or something else happens during it. The subject of the first action usually continues into the second.
Forming it
| 가다 | → 가다가 |
| 먹다 | → 먹다가 |
| 자다 | → 자다가 |
| 듣다 | → 듣다가 |
Don't confuse it with -았/었다가: 학교에 가다가 = on the way to school; 학교에 갔다가 = went to school (and then came back/did something else).
Examples
학교에 가다가 길에서 친구를 만났어요.
On my way to school, I ran into a friend on the street.
공부하다가 너무 졸려서 잠깐 잤어요.
I was studying, then got so sleepy that I napped for a bit.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)면서 = two actions at the same time; -았/었다가 = after an action is finished, something else (often reversing it); -는 도중(에) = in the middle of, more formal.