-아/어 대다

Attached to an action verb, it shows someone doing that action over and over or very intensely, usually to a degree the speaker finds excessive or annoying.

시제·상Tense & aspect

Han: 비싸다 is an adjective, and -아/어 대다 attaches only to action verbs that can be repeated.

Examples

그 사람은 회의 내내 자기 의견이 맞다고 우겨 댔다.Throughout the whole meeting, he kept insisting that his opinion was right.

옆집 개가 밤새도록 짖어 대서 한숨도 못 잤어요.The neighbor’s dog kept barking all night, so I didn’t get a wink of sleep.

저는 스트레스를 받으면 단 걸 먹어 대는 버릇이 있어요.When I’m stressed, I have a habit of eating sweets nonstop.

동생이 장난감을 사 달라고 하도 졸라 대서 결국 사 줬어요.My little brother kept pestering me to buy him a toy, so in the end I bought it.

Don’t mix up

-아/어 대다vs계속 V계속 just states that the action continued; -아/어 대다 adds that it was excessive and annoying: 아이가 계속 울었어요 (fact) vs 아이가 울어 댔어요 (annoyed).

-아/어 대다vsV-곤 하다-곤 하다 is a neutral habit repeated from time to time; -아/어 대다 is intense, nonstop repetition seen negatively: 주말마다 등산을 하곤 했어요.

How to build it

V+아/어 대다

먹다 → 먹어 대다, 떠들다 → 떠들어 대다, 졸라 대다 (조르다)

Use it with action verbs only; it does not attach to adjectives or 이다 (*비싸 대다).
It usually sounds critical or annoyed, so it is unnatural for praise or for politely describing someone’s kind actions.
The verb must describe an action that can be repeated or kept up (먹다, 떠들다, 짖다, 조르다); one-time events such as 도착하다 or 죽다 do not fit.
Tense and connecting endings go on 대다, not on the main verb: 먹어 댔다, 먹어 대서, 먹어 대는.

Classic mistake

Wrong: ~~그 가방이 너무 비싸 대서 못 샀어요.~~

Right: 그 가방이 너무 비싸서 못 샀어요.

비싸다 is an adjective, and -아/어 대다 attaches only to action verbs that can be repeated.

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