Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 7 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #2 (Lessons 181 to 210) ᚛ Lesson 194 - Warning of a consequence in Korean [-다가는]

Warning of a consequence in Korean [-다가는]

In this course: 다가는 / 다간 / 았다가는 / 었다가는 / 했다가는

In a previous chapter, we studied the -다(가) structure, which expresses, among other things, the interruption of one action by another. In this chapter, we are going to look at the -다가는 structure which, although it seems to belong to the same family, has a completely different function: warning someone that, if they keep going like this, something bad is going to happen to them. In English, it corresponds to "if you keep…", "if you go on…" or "at this rate". So make sure to distinguish -다(가) from -다가는.

Warning with -다가는

To warn someone that a negative consequence will occur if they continue the action they are doing, or that they usually do, we use the following structure:
[Ongoing action: … Present stem]다가는 [Negative consequence]

Three features are found in almost every sentence with -다가는:

• the action of the first part is already under way or repeated, hence the adverbs 계속, 이렇게, 그렇게 and 지금처럼 that so often go with it: "if you keep going like this";
• the consequence is bad for the person concerned; for a happy outcome ("if you keep exercising, you will lose weight"), Korean uses -(으)면 or -다 보면 instead, not -다가는;
• the second part is in the future or expresses a supposition: -(으)ㄹ 거예요, -(으)ㄹ 수도 있다, -(으)ㄹ지도 모르다, 큰일 나다, or the expression -기 십상이다, "to be very likely to".

계속 그런 식으로 공부도 안 하고 놀다가는 원하는 대학에 못 들어갈 거야.
→ If you keep fooling around like that without studying, you will not get into the university you want.

계속 이렇게 지각하다가는 회사에서 잘릴 거야.
→ If you keep showing up late like this, you are going to get fired.

온종일 아무것도 하지 않고 티브이만 보다가는 무기력증에 걸릴 거예요.
→ If you keep watching TV all day without doing anything, you will sink into lethargy.

장사가 잘 된다고 무리하게 확장하다가는 오히려 손해 볼 가능성이 커.
→ If you overexpand just because business is good, there is a good chance you will end up losing money instead.

팀장님, 요즘 같은 시대에 음주운전하다가는 큰일 나요. 대리운전 불러 드릴 테니 타고 가세요.
→ Boss, in this day and age, drinking and driving will land you in serious trouble. I will call you a designated driver, so go home with him.

이렇게 하다가는 오늘 중으로 조별 과제 다 못 할 것 같은데 각자 할 수 있는 만큼 일을 분담해서 해 오면 어떨까?
→ At this rate, I do not think we will finish the group project today: how about each of us takes a share and prepares as much as they can on their own?

Supposition with -았/었다가는

Differences between -다가는 and -(으)면

Exercises

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