Saturday, 3 November 2012

korean grammar: -다/-다가 2: -았/었다가

In the last post I wrote about -다(가)-da-ga on verbs. This can also attach to the past tense of verbs too.

Just like on the present stem ending, the subjects have to be the same, but the difference is, that the first action is definitely completed. If something is completed there are usually effects: you're happy, late etc. you find something. So often rather than the expected outcome, another outcome is written after -/-았/었다(가)att/eott-da-ga. Otherwise why would you want to transfer the narrative/story/action to something else?

This ending in these cases is a little harder to understand, because our past tense is more about the past than completion. The important thing to remember is that the first action is 100% complete. This is why it is important not learn this ending as "I was... when...".

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