On the Way, Helping Out -다가

You were heading to class when you ran into a friend. Later, that friend helped you with a bag. -다가 interrupts the first activity; -아/어 주다 tells us someone did an action for somebody else.

An Action Gets Interrupted

Attach -다가 to the verb stem: 가다가, 먹다가, 공부하다가. The first activity is under way when another event happens or you switch to something else. In the basic pattern, keep the actor the same across both clauses.

Do Something for Someone

Use the -아/어 form plus 주다: 도와주다, 읽어 주다, 열어 주다. A request becomes -아/어 주세요; a completed favour becomes -아/어 줬어요. The helper is the subject, and the person benefiting can be named with 에게 or 한테.

Vocabulary