[Korean grammar] -았/었다가 Expressing Completion

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가: 더운데 창문을 좀 열까요?
It’s hot, shall I open the window?
나: 밖이너무 시끄럽더라고요. 그래서 창문을 열었다가 다시 닫았어요.
It was really noisy outside. So (earlier) I had opened the window, but then I closed it again.

가: 주말에 특별한 계획 있으세요?
Do you have any special plans for the weekend?
나: 네, 친구랑 부산에 갔다가 오려고요.
Yes, I’m planning to go to Busan (and then come back) with a friend.

This expression indicates that the subject performs the action in the following clause after the action in the first clause is completed. Note that in this case the -았/었- part of ‘-았/었다가’ does not indicate the past tense but rather the completion of the action. As for the following clause, all tenses can be used, including the past, present, and future. The phrase -았/었다가 can also be shortened to -았/었다. Finally, this expression can only be attached to verbs.


• 코트를 샀다가 마음에 안 들어서 환불했어요.
I bought a coat but then returned it because I didn’t like it.

• 비행기 표를 예약했다가 갑자기 일이 생겨서 취소했어요.
I had reserved a plane ticket but then canceled it because something suddenly came up.

• 잠깐 우체국에 갔다 올게요.
I’m going to make a quick trip to the post office.

1. The subjects of the preceding and following clauses must be the same.
양강 씨는 편지를 썼다가 자야 씨가 찢었어요. (X)
->양강 씨는 편지를 썼다가 (양강 씨가) 찢었어요. (〇)

2.  In general, the actions described by the preceding and following clauses reflect mutually contrastive or opposite situations.
• 코트를 입었다가 벗었어요,
I put on the coat and then took it off.

• 불을 꼈다가 어두워서 다시 켰어요.
I turned the lights off but then turned them back on because it was dark.

• 일어났다가 졸려서 다시 잤어요.
I woke up but then went back to sleep because I was sleepy.

3. This expression can also be used to indicate the speaker’s doing of some action and then experiencing something noteworthy or unexpected while doing that action. In this case, it usually refers to the occurrence of an unplanned event after doing the action in the preceding clause, it is mainly used to refer to past events and is used together with verbs such as ‘가다, 오다, 타다 and 들르다. When used in this meaning, it can be replaced with the expression -았/었는데 with no change in meaning.
• 백화점에 갔다가 우연히 고등학교 때 친구를 만났어요.
= 백화점에 갔는데 우연히 고등학교 때 친구를 만났어요.
I went to the department store and happened to bump into a high school friend.

• 서점에 들렀다가 재미있는 책을 발견했어요.
= 서검에 들렀는데 재미있는 책을 발견했어요.
I went by the bookstore and came across an interesting book.
See Chapter: Expressing Mid-Action -다가 here. 

While -다가 and -았/었다가 are two similar forms, they have a number of differences as shown below. 

>> You can click on the title of each grammar below to learn about the other grammar which also expresses ‘Completion:

>> Full of Intermediate grammar: Click here

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