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This has been a much-requested grammar form! -다가 is a really useful grammar point that is used often in speech, so it would be really helpful to learn how to use it well.

I will cover four different “forms” of -다가, each of which has its own meaning(s). The four forms I’ll cover will be -다가, 아/어다가, -았/었다가 (-다가 attached to a verb conjugated to past tense), and -다가는. Also, while it’s not the same as the verb endings that use -다가, I’ll explain the particle -에다가 as well.

-다가

Function

The -다가 grammar form is used to indicate interruption of an action. In English, we could translate this form roughly as “While doing X…”

Usage

-다가 is very simple to use! Just attach it to an action verb root in present tense! You can optionally remove the “가” at the end and just use it as -다 as well. Just make sure that the subject of the preceding and following clauses stays the same Let’s check it out:

Interruption of an action:

요리를 하다가 접시를 떨어트렸어요. (While cooking, I dropped a plate.)

영화를 보다가 잠들었어. (While watching a movie, I fell asleep.)

화랑 씨는 숙제를 하다가 친구들과 전화도 했어요. (While doing his homework, Hwarang  talked with his friends on the phone.)

수하 씨는 오랜만에 못 본 친구랑 통화하다가 울었어요. (While on the phone with a friend she hadn’t been able to see in a long time, Suha cried.)

NOTE: This section originally listed a second meaning for -다가, that being the introduction of the simultaneous occurrence of two actions. After looking into it a bit more, a true feeling of simultaneous occurrence can not be achieved by using -다가 and -(으)면서 must be used, otherwise the sense of interruption persists. You can read a little more by clicking this paragraph. I apologize for any confusion caused.

-아/어다가

Function

-아/어다가 is a grammar form indicating sequential actions. The action in the preceding clause is done first, and then the action in the following clause occurs in a different location. The two actions must be related to each other, so that the action in the following clause happens dependent upon the completion of the action in the preceding clause. You can think of it as meaning “First… and then…” in English, though of course you might have to change that a bit for a more natural translation depending on the circumstances.

Usage

To use this form, simply attach -아/어다가 to the root of an action verb in the present tense. Remember to change the root as needed depending on whether or not it’s irregular!  You can optionally remove the “가” at the end and just use it as -아/어다 as well.

제 가방 좀 가져다 주세요. (Please get my bag and give it to me.)

아름 씨는 김밥을 만들어다가 친구에게 줬어요. (Areum made kimbap and gave it to her friends. 

언니는 선물을 사다가 어머니께 보냈어요. (My older sister bought a gift and sent it to mom.)

-았/었다가

Function

Using -다가 on an action verb conjugated to the past tense indicates completion of an action, after which another action action occurs. This is in contrast to -다가 with a present tense action verb, which indicates interruption of an action or simultaneous occurrence of two actions, as seen above. The verbs used in the preceding and following clauses are often contrasting or opposite, though this is not always the case.

Usage

Just conjugate the action verb that you want to use to past tense and add -다가! You can optionally remove the “가” at the end and just use this grammar as -았/었다. Also, the subject of both the preceding and following clauses must stay the same.

갔다 올게요! (I’ll go and come back! [More naturally, “I’ll be back!”])

편의점에 들렀다가 집에 갔어요. (I stopped by the convenience store and then went home.)

NOTE: This form can also be used to express that something unexpected happened after doing the action in the preceding clause.

집에 갔다가 문 앞에 웬 소포가 있었어요. (I went home and there was an unexpected package in front of the door.)

기차를 탔다가 6년만에 못 본 친구를 만났아요. (I got on the train and met a friend I hadn’t seen in six years.)

-다가는

Function

This grammar point is used to give warnings, indicating that if the action or condition of the preceding clause continues, then the negative result in the following clause will occur. It can be translated as “If… then…”. Just keep in mind that it must be used with negative consequences only!

Something important to note with this form is that, while it might seem similar to -(으)면, the two are not totally interchangeable! -다가는 refers to an action that is already known to be in progress, regardless of context, while an identical sentence that changes only -다가는 to -(으)면 refers to a condition in the preceding clause that may or may not be in progress (unless prior context makes it clear that the action is in progress, in which case the two sentences are identical).

Usage

Unlike the other -다가s that we have looked at so far, this one can be used with action and descriptive verbs both! Just attach -다가는 to the root of the verb in either present or past tense. Using a verb conjugated to the past tense changes the preceding clause from a situation that is currently in progress to speculating about a present or future event.

PRESENT

Action verbs: -다가는

담배를 계속 피우다가는 폐암에 걸릴지도 몰라요. (If you keep smoking, you might get lung cancer [LIT-I don’t know whether or not you’ll get lung cancer].)

이렇게 공부를 미루다가는 기말 시험에 떨어질 수도 있어요. (If you put off studying like this you could even fail the final exam.)

Descriptive verbs: -다가는

미세먼지가 이렇게 심하다가는 호흡기 질환 환자들이 많아질 거예요. (If the pollution stays severe like this, the number of respiratory illness patients will increase.)

날씨가 이렇게 덥다가는 특히 노인들이 열사병에 많이 걸릴 것 같아요. (If the weather stays hot like this, it seems that especially many elderly people could get heat stroke.)

PAST— I actually struggled over this section quite a bit! I had to ask some native speaker friends to help me work through it. In general, the consensus we reached is that the examples that I wrote here are correct, but it is far more common to just use -(으)면 for the same meaning.

Action verbs: -았/었다가는

어제 처럼 경기했다가는 질 거예요. (If we play like we did yesterday, then we will lose.)

음식을 너무 많이 먹었다가는 배탈이 날 거예요. (If you eat too much food, you’ll get a stomachache.)

Descriptive verbs: -았/었다가는

집안 습기가 계속 이렇게 높았다가는 곰팡이가 쉽게 생길 거예요. (If the humidity in your house is constantly high, mold will form easily.)

출산율이 계속 낮았다가는 인구가 감소할 거예요. (If the birthrate stays low, the population will decrease.)

-에다가

Function

The particle -에다가 has two main functions. One of those functions is to indicate the specific location of something, and the other is to add more information in addition to something else. You can drop the final “가” and just use this particle as -에다.

Usage

When used to indicate the specific location of something, -에다가 is attached to an adverb. When used to provide additional information, it attaches to nouns.

Specific location:

종이 밑에다가 사인해 주세요. (Please sign the bottom of the paper.)

가방을 책상 위에다가 놓았어요. (I put my bag on top of the table.)

어디에다 둘까요? (Where should I put it?)

Additional information:

김밥을 만들었어요. 게다가(그에다가) 음료수도 준비해 놨어요. (I made kimbap. In addition to that, I also prepared drinks.) 

소윤 씨는 알바하는 데다가 봉사 활동도 해요. (In addition to working a part-time job, Soyun also does volunteer activities.) NOTE: 데다가 = 데 + 에다가. For more info on -는 데, click here!

이번 주 가스요금에다가 전기요금도 내야 돼요. (This week I must pay my electricity bill in addition to my gas bill.)

안녕, 여러분! In previous lessons, we learned how to say “if” using -면 and “even though” or “even if” using 아/어/여도. In this lesson, we are going to be using these structures to either give someone permission, or to say that we can do something. Let’s begin!

되다

First of all, let’s talk about the word 되다. You might know that 되다 means “to become,” but it also has a few different other meanings. Talk to Me in Korean I think defines it best–it can mean “’to function,’ ‘to be possible,’ or ‘can do.’” For example, you may hear people say “돼요?” to mean “is it working?” or “is it okay?” Let’s see how we can use how we can use 되다 with -(으)면 or 아/어/여도 to say “I/you can…”

-(으)면 되다

Now that we know that -면 means “if” and 되다 means “to be possible” or “to work,” let’s look at a sentence with both of them together. You can use this formula:

[verb / adjective stem] + (으)면 되다 = You may [verb / adjective] / I can [verb / adjective]

For example:

지금 가면 돼요. = You can go now / You may go now / I can go now

가다 = to go

가면 돼요 = if you go now, it’s okay / it’s okay if you go now / it is possible for you to go now

So literally, this sentence can mean “it’s okay if you go now” or “it’s okay if I go now.” But most of the time you’ll see it translated as “you can/may go now” or “I can go now.” Let’s look at some more examples!

숙제를 끝냈으니까 친구를 만나면 돼요. = You finished the homework, so you can meet your friend.

끝내다 = to finish / to complete

만나다 = to meet

만나 + (으)면 되다 = 만나면 되다 = you can meet / it’s okay if you meet

More on the (으)니까 structure in a future lesson!

저는 돈이 충분해서 이걸 사면 돼요 = I have enough money, so I can buy this

충분하다 = to be enough / to be plenty

 사다 = to buy

사 + (으)면 되다 = 사면 되다 = you can buy it / it’s okay if you buy it / it’s possible for me to buy it

-(으)면 안 되다

If you want to say that you or someone else cannot do something, or that something is not possible, you can just attach -면 안 되다 to a verb or adjective. For example:

지금 말하면 안 돼요 = You can’t talk right now

말하다 = to talk

말하 + (으)면 안 되다 = 말하면 안 되다 = it’s not okay if you talk / you may not talk

늦으면 안 돼요 = You cannot be late

늦다 = to be late

늦 + (으)면 안 되다 = 늦으면 안 되다 = I can’t be late / you cannot be late / it’s not okay if you’re late

아/어/여도 되다

Let’s move on to 아/어/여도 되다. In a lot of cases, this is very similar to (으)면 되다. Simply use this formula to say that it is okay for someone to do something:

[verb / adjective stem] + 아/어/여도 되다 = You can [verb / adjective] / You may [verb / adjective] 

From what I could gather, the only difference between this and (으)면 되다 is that (으)면 되다 can be used to talk about yourself, while 아/어/여도 되다 is used for only talking to other people (as in granting others permission). Someone please correct me if I’m wrong! 

For example:

지금 가도 돼요 = You may go now / you can go now

가도 돼요 = Even if you go, it’s okay / it’s okay even if you go 

내일은 일찍 퇴근해도 돼요. = You can leave work early tomorrow.

퇴근하다 = to get off work / to leave work

퇴근하 + 아/어/여도 되다 = 퇴근해도 되다 = You can get off work / It’s okay even if you leave work

제 핸드폰을 빌려도 돼요 = You can borrow my phone

빌리다 = to borrow

빌리 + 아/어/여도 되다 = 빌려도 되다 = you can borrow it / its okay even if you borrow it

You will also hear 아/어/여도 되다 when asking for permission. For instance:

질문 물어봐도 돼요? = May I ask a question?

물어보다 = to ask

물어봐도 돼요? = May I ask? / Is it okay if I ask?

이걸 입어봐도 돼요? = May I try this on? 

입어보다 = to try on [clothes]

입어봐도 돼요? = May I try it on? / Is it okay if I try it on?

If you want to say that someone does not have to do something, simply add 안 before the verb or adjective. For instance:

지금 안 가도 돼요 = You don’t have to go now / Even if you don’t go now, it’s okay

공부를 안 해도 돼요 = You don’t have to study / Even if you don’t study, it’s okay

Occasionally, you may even hear 아/어/여도 followed by the adjective 괜찮다, which means “to be okay.” For example:

내일은 일찍 퇴근해도 괜찮아요. = It’s okay [even] if you leave work early.

질문 물어봐도 괜찮아요? = Is it okay [even] if I ask a question?

Hey anon!

You’re correct in stating that they both mean ‘can’t’, hopefully, this answer will help clear some confusion you have. 

I used to have this problem as well - I didn’t know which one to use for the longest time and I would say:

한국어를 말할 수 없어요 VS 한국말 잘 못해요 - I can’t speak Korean

I mentioned it a little in my Basic Communicative Sentences video. When using -ㄹ/을 수 있어요/없어요 and 잘 (못)해요, 잘 (못)해요 is more natural! Of course, you can say either! But they’re completely different depending on the situation.

-ㄹ/을 수 없다 - is used when you are unable to do something at the moment (due to the temporary obstacles that occur)     ~ 비가 와서 갈 수 없어요 ㅠㅠ - I can’t go because it’s raining :(

Whereas 못하다 expresses permanent inability! (못 - poorly / 하다 - to do) Often times, -지 is also attached to the verb to express inability (+지 못하다)     ~ 저는 피아노를 연주하지 못해요 - I can’t play piano

*BONUS*

You can add ‘-지 않다’ to say that you don’t do something, rather than you can’t!     ~ 소주를 마시지 않아요 - I don’t drink Soju

Main difference:-ㄹ/을 수 없다 - unable to do something (in the moment)못 하다 - unable to do something (at all)      ~ more natural and used more in spoken Korean

Hope this cleared up your confusion! If you have any more questions, I’m always here to help ~~ Happy Learning :)

This is described as being similar to ㄹ망정, with the same two meanings. However, this structure is slightly stronger. 1. The first meaning can be understood as “Even though…” or “Although…”. The first clause is (usually) a negative thing, and the second clause is a positive thing. You can think of it as interchangeable with “… 그럼에도 불구하고 …”. 힘들지언정, 불가능하지 않다. Even though it’s difficult, it’s not impossible. 2. The second is like saying “I’d rather … than …”. 죽을지언정 실패하지 않는다. I’d rather die than fail.

It’s quite difficult to explain but you use V게 내버려 두다 as said on the title: to leave a person do V/ to leave a person and let them do V (btw this is commonly used).

Take a look at the examples below to get a better understanding of the grammar point:

나 좀 그냥 혼자 있게 내버려 둬! (나 좀 그냥 혼자 있게 놔둬 요!) Just leave me alone!

울게 내버려두다 (울게 놔둬 요 ) To leave a person alone and let them cry

남을 제멋대로 하게 내버려 두다 ( 남을 제멋대로 하게  놔둬 요 )  Leave a person to do as they like

일이 되어가는 대로 내버려 두다 (일이 되어가는 대로 놔둬 요 ) Leave the matter as it is

일이 흘러가는 대로 내버려두다 ( 일이 흘러가는 대로 놔둬 요 ) To let things slide

날 좀 살게 내버려 둬줘! ( 날 좀 살게 놔둬줘 요 !) Just let me live!

제멋대로 살게 내버려 두다 ( 제멋대로 살게 놔둬요) To let a person live as they like/ To leave a person and let them live as they like

This grammar point is used colloquially. It has two different meanings depending on the intonation of the speaker. 

Conjugation follows the same rules as quoted speech; 는단 for verbs ending in consonants, ㄴ단 for verbs ending in vowels and 단 for all adjectives. Also, (이)란 말이에요 is used for nouns. In addition, past tense is attached before 단, i.e 었/았/였단 말이에요.  

1. Rising intonation (question). Used to check what the other person said because it is hard to believe. Translates to ‘Do you mean that..?’ 

It’s meaning is similar to ~다니요?, however unlike ~다니요, you can reply with your feeling rather than directly copying the first speakers words. When expressing your feelings ‘그렇게’ is often used. 

비가 와도 가겠단 말이에요?

회의 시간에 한 시간이나 늦었단 말이에요?

내일 날씨가 그렇게 춥단 말이에요?

그렇게 부자란 말이에요?

나: 어제 10시간이나 잤어요.

가: 네? 어제 10시시간이나 잤단 말이에요? 

2. Level or falling intonation. Used by the original speaker to confirm, can be translated as ‘I mean that…, ‘I am saying that..’ 

그녀가 한국인 아니란 말이에요.

그 사람은 이미 한국으로 떠났단 말이에요.

The imperative ending 라 and the proposal ending 자 can be combined with this grammar point (and used for either meaning) 

빨리 가란 말이야

안녕하세요! Hey everyone! In this lesson, we’re going to learn about how to say something you hear in English a lot! In English, we say things like “yeah, it is expensive, but I’m going to buy it anyway” or “I am busy, but I do want to hang out.” We can say this in Korean using -긴 하다! Let’s start!

What is -긴 하다?

-긴 하다 is a shortened (and more common I think) version of -기는 하다. It is often used for when you’re admitting something, but showing a contrast at the same time. It is often paired with structures that show a contrast such as -지만 or -ㄴ/는데 Here’s a formula:

[verb / adjective stem] + 긴 하다 + [rest of sentence] 

This is how you attach it regardless of tense! Just attach it to the stem!

Let’s see some sentences to better understand this!

그 남자가 잘생긴 한데 재수 없어요. = That man is handsome, but he’s rude.

So what’s the difference between this sentence and “그 남자가 잘생겼는데 재수 없어요”? When you use -긴 하다, it emphasizes that you’re admitting something, but also that you’re trying to defend your opinion. It’s like when in English we say, “yeah, he IS handsome, but he’s rude.” You’re admitting that he’s good-looking, however, you’re also pointing out that he’s rude, and perhaps that’s the reason why you don’t like him or something. You’re admitting something, but you’re also defending another opinion that you have. Let’s see some more examples!

그 영화가 재미있기는 한데 너무 길어요. = That movie is interesting, but it’s too long. 

걔가 착하긴 한데 내 스타일 아냐. = He is nice, but he’s not my type.

아이스크림이 맛있긴 하지만 먹으면 배가 아파서 못 먹어요. = Ice cream is good, but I can’t eat it because it makes my stomach hurt.

-긴 + [verb / adjective]

Sometimes, you’ll hear the first verb or adjective used to replace 하다 in the middle. For example, instead of 그 영화가 재미있기는 한데 너무 길어요, you might hear 그 영화가 재미있긴 재미있는데 너무 길어요. This would translate to the same thing. I think it would give the “but” part extra emphasis though, as in “yeah, it IS interesting, BUT it’s too long.”

That’s about all for this lesson! Hope it was helpful! 한국어를 공부하는 게 여렵긴 하지만 재미있어요! Studying Korean is challenging, but it’s lots of fun!! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!

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Hello! So sorry for the wait. This grammar has two parts: -겠다 and -냐고. In short, -겠다 is a kind of future tense, -냐 is an informal way of asking a question, and -냐 combined with -고 is a way of quoting a question. That’s all I’m going to get into for those grammar points for now, but if you’re interested, check out my full-length lessons on them linked!

Let’s see an example with only -냐 from hinative:

이게 되냐? = Will this work?

Now if you add -고 to the end of that, it becomes

이게 되냐고? = He/She/They/You asked if it would work?

Hi there! It’s more grammar than it is colloquial, however, it’s used pretty casually! The ending -(이)라니 is attached to nouns that the speaker focuses on in the specific sentence. From my understanding, you use -(이)라니 when you’re:

surprised

angry

disappointed

embarrassed

worry

-이라니 - attached to consonants-라니 - attached to vowels

Some Examples:

[Worry]

유림: 큰일났어 - I’m in big trouble희주: 무슨일이야? 큰일이라니?? - what’s going on? what’s the problem??

[Dissapointment]

희주: 여행선물을 기대했는데 고작 사온게 열쇠고리 하나라니… - I was excited to get a souvenir, but all I got was a keychain…

[Surprise]

희주: 뭐야? 이게 식물이라니! - what? this is a plant!

For verbs and adjectives, you use “-다니”:

맛있다니… - It’s delicious…

도서관이 왜 시끄럽다니? - why is the library noisy?

I hope I conveyed the proper emotion through my examples! If you still need help, don’t hesitate to shoot me a message so I can clear up the confusion! Happy Learning :)

There are a lot of grammar points in here, so I'll give you an index:

-겠다; intention, will / observation, supposition

-지(요)/죠?; right?, isn't it?

아니다; to not be

N(이/가) + 아니다 + 지요

아니다 + 겠다 + 지요

I sincerely apologize for the length of this post! There's a lot to unpack in just those two phrases, so I hope this helps.

1. -겠다; intention, will (1) / observation, supposition (2)

Phrases you’ll hear/know using -겠다:

(1) 잘 먹겠습니다 – I’ll eat well (aka: I intend to eat well)

(1) 뭐 드시겠습니까? – What will you eat? (높임말)

(1) 잘 하겠습니다 – I’ll do my best!

(2) 맛있겠습니다! – I suppose it is delicious

(2) 피곤하겠습니다 – I suppose you're tired

(2) 내일 비가 오겠습니다! - I suppose it's going to rain tomorrow

When to use -겠다:

Use it for yourself when you want to express first-person intent or will

If you do this, then remember that it’s more common and natural to use -겠다 with formal grammatical patterns (that’s why you see -(스)ㅂ니다 in all the examples)

This pattern also puts more emphasis on the intention than the simpler (으)ㄹ 것이다 future tense; if you use the -겠다 pattern, you mean it, essentially.

Use it when you want to make an observation towards someone or something else

Use it when inquiring about another person’s intent or will

All that said, you can use -(으)ㄹ 것이다 to express a future action in a less formal situation.

뭐 먹을 거야? (with friends) vs. 뭐 드시겠습니까? (as the server)

Note: you can use this pattern in lower formality situations (as an example, 힘들겠어; it seems difficult), it's completely okay! It's just more common to use -겠습니다 when talking about the intended future in a formal situation.

2. -지(요)/죠; right(?), isn't it?

This is used to ask for confirmation from the speaker about an observation! For us Canadians, this is the "eh?" we love so dearly. You can use this as a statement, to agree with the speaker. The difference between 지요 and 죠 is just pronunciation; they're the exact same thing. Examples:

춥죠? - it's cold, isn't it? (Canadian translation: it's cold, eh?)

외국인들은 한국에서 일하기 힘들지요? - it's hard for foreigners to work in Korea, right?

알고 있죠? - you know that, right?

당근이지 - right, of course! (informal)

3. 아니다; to not be

This is pretty self-explanatory. It's the opposite of 이다! When using this verb, make sure you use 이/가 particles! Here are some examples:

그 남자는 배우가 아니에요 - he's not an actor

학생이 아녜요! - I'm not a student

부자가 아니에요? - you're not rich?

4. N(이/가) + 아니다 + 지요

If we combine 아니다 and 지요 we can get sentences that express a negative statement to be confirmed. It's best to illustrate this with examples:

농담이 아니죠? - you're not joking, right?

부자가 아니지요? - you're not rich, are you?

한국인이 아니죠? - you're not Korean, right?

Note: when answering these questions, you have to answer the Korean way; we have to think of if we agree or disagree with the statement. Look here for examples.

5. 아니다 + 겠다 + 지요

Final grammar point! This is also pretty self-explanatory. As we know, -겠다 is used to express an observation or supposition. When we attach -지요, we are expressing that we need the listener to agree with our future observation. Examples:

-겠다 + 지요

쉽겠죠? - I suppose it's gonna be easy, right?

다음 주에 한국어 시험을 어렵겠죠? - The Korean test next week will be hard, right?

When adding 아니다 to 겠지(요)/죠, we are expressing a statement that we (the speaker) believe is a true observation.

Here are examples:

코로나 때문에 한국에 가는 게 아니겠죠? - you aren't going to Korea because of CoVid, right?

감기에 걸렸기 때문에 학교에 오는 게 아니었겠지요? - you didn't come to school because you caught a cold, right?

If you disagree with these statements, you are more than welcome to say so. The question/statement is just an observation that the speaker believes to be true. For example, you could say:

A: 코로나 때문에 한국에 가는 게 아니겠죠? B: 아니요, 돈이 없어서 한국에 못 가거든요 - No (I disagree that it's because of CoVid), I can't go because I don't have money.

BONUS:

~(으)면 좋겠다; I hope ~

You can use this when you want to express the hopefulness of something. The literal translation is "it would be good if~". Here are some examples:

한국에 가면 좋겠어요 - I hope to go to Korea

잘됐으면 좋겠어요 - I hope it goes well

상을 타면 좋겠어요 - I hope I win a prize/award

Ooof!! Finally at the end! Hope this answered your question! As always, if there's anything that you still don't understand, you're more than welcome to send me a pm and we can sort it out together!

Happy Learning :)