TOPIK II · LEVEL 3
-아/어다가
Do A to get or handle an object, then take that object to another place and do B with it: 'get/buy A and (bring it to) B'. Often shortened to -아/어다.
시간·순서Time & sequenceHan: 앉다 moves no object; -아/어다가 needs a thing that is taken to another place. For a posture followed by an action use -아서/어서.
Examples
물 좀 떠다가 화분에 줄래?Could you fetch some water and give it to the plant?
시장에서 생선을 사다가 저녁에 구워 먹었어요.I bought fish at the market and grilled it for dinner.
도서관에서 책을 빌려다가 주말 내내 읽었다.I borrowed books from the library and read them all weekend.
Don’t mix up
-아/어다가vs-아서/어서-아서/어서 links steps without stressing that an object is moved; -아/어다가 stresses carrying it elsewhere: 친구 집에 가서 놀았어요 (no object moved) vs 도서관에서 책을 빌려다가 집에서 읽었어요.-아/어다가vs-다가 (전환)-다가 interrupts one action with another: 집에 가다가 친구를 만났어요 'met a friend on the way home'. -아/어다가 completes A and carries its object: 꽃을 꺾어다가 꽂았어요.
How to build it
V+아다가 / 어다가 / 해다가 (short: 아다 / 어다 / 해다)
사다 → 사다가; 빌리다 → 빌려다가; 찾다 → 찾아다가; 만들다 → 만들어다가; 하다 → 해다가; 데리다 → 데려다
- The object of A is the same thing used in B, and it is moved to a new place between the two actions: 시장에서 고기를 사다가 집에서 구웠어요.
- A is a transitive verb (사다, 빌리다, 찾다, 꺼내다, 따다, 잡다); the subject of both clauses is the same, and no tense marker goes before -아/어다가.
- It appears in fixed verbs of delivering: 가져다주다 'bring for someone', 데려다주다 'take someone (home)', 갖다 놓다 'put (something) somewhere'.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 의자에 앉아다가 책을 읽었어요.
Right: 의자에 앉아서 책을 읽었어요.
앉다 moves no object; -아/어다가 needs a thing that is taken to another place. For a posture followed by an action use -아서/어서.
Practise -아/어다가 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)며-(으)며 is a formal, written 'and' (listing) or 'while' (two actions at once).
- -(으)ㄴ 채(로)-(으)ㄴ 채(로) means doing something while a previous state is still kept: 'with … still on / still …ing'.
- -(으)ㄴ 다음에'After doing A, B': the second event follows the first. It means the same as -(으)ㄴ 후에 / -(으)ㄴ 뒤에 but sounds more conversational.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 김에Use it when you take the chance of doing one thing to also do another thing: 'while I'm at it, I'll also…'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 대로Shows that an action is done exactly the way something was said, done, seen or planned.
- -고 나다Marks that an action has been fully completed before what follows; used in -고 나면 'once A is done', -고 나니(까) 'after A, (I found)…' and -고 난 후/뒤/다음에.
- -고 나서-고 나서 means "after (fully) finishing A, then B" and stresses that the first action is completed before the next begins.
- -는 길에-는 길에 means 'on the way to / while going somewhere': doing B along the way.
- -는 동안-는 동안 marks the whole stretch of time an action lasts, during which something else happens or continues.