Past Tense — 았어요 / 었어요 / 했어요
One block of meaning slots into the middle: 먹 + 었 + 어요 = 먹었어요. If you know the present tense, you already know the past.
7.1The past is the present with one block added
The past tense is the polite present with one extra piece dropped into the middle. Take the stem, add 았 or 었, then finish with 어요. 먹 + 었 + 어요 = 먹었어요. That is the entire rule.
Choosing between 았 and 었 uses the vowel rule you learned last chapter: ㅏ or ㅗ in the stem → 았, anything else → 었. And 하다 verbs become 했어요.
7.2The same vowel rule you already know
Present → past
| Dictionary | Present | Past | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹다 (to eat) | 먹어요 | 먹었어요 | ㅓ → 었 |
| 읽다 (to read) | 읽어요 | 읽었어요 | ㅣ → 었 |
| 앉다 (to sit) | 앉아요 | 앉았어요 | ㅏ → 았 |
| 좋다 (to be good) | 좋아요 | 좋았어요 | ㅗ → 았 |
| 웃다 (to laugh) | 웃어요 | 웃었어요 | ㅜ → 었 |
| 공부하다 (to study) | 공부해요 | 공부했어요 | 하다 → 했어요 |
| 일하다 (to work) | 일해요 | 일했어요 | 하다 → 했어요 |
7.3When the past merges too
Exactly as in the present, a stem that already ends in a vowel merges with 았/었. If you can say 가요, you can say 갔어요 — it is the same merge with 어요 attached.
Merged past forms
| Present | Past | Never |
|---|---|---|
| 가요 | 갔어요 | 가았어요 |
| 와요 | 왔어요 | 오았어요 |
| 봐요 | 봤어요 | 보았어요 — correct, but rare in speech |
| 줘요 | 줬어요 | 주었어요 — correct, but rare in speech |
| 마셔요 | 마셨어요 | 마시었어요 |
| 해요 | 했어요 | 하았어요 |
A shortcut worth its weight in gold: take the polite present, strip the final 요, add ㅆ어요. 가요 → 갔어요. 먹어요 → 먹었어요. 해요 → 했어요. It works every single time.
7.4Was and were: 이었어요 / 였어요
Nouns do not take 았/었. The past of 이에요/예요 (“is”) is 이었어요 after a consonant and 였어요 after a vowel — the same batchim split you met in Chapter 5.
Noun + was
| Noun | Ends in | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 학생 | consonant | 학생이었어요 | was a student |
| 선생님 | consonant | 선생님이었어요 | was a teacher |
| 의사 | vowel | 의사였어요 | was a doctor |
| 가수 | vowel | 가수였어요 | was a singer |
아니에요 (“is not”) follows suit: 아니었어요 — “was not”.
7.5Time words that pull the past
Korean marks tense on the verb, but the time word at the front of the sentence is what makes it sound natural. These five turn up constantly alongside past-tense verbs.
Past-tense time words
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 어제 | eoje | yesterday |
| 아까 | akka | a little while ago |
| 지난주 | jinanju | last week |
| 지난달 | jinandal | last month |
| 작년 | jangnyeon | last year |
어제 영화를 봤어요.
I watched a movie yesterday.
हिजो चलचित्र हेरेँ।
지난주에 부산에 갔어요.
I went to Busan last week.
गत हप्ता बुसान गएँ।
어제 친구를 만났어요.
I met a friend yesterday.
हिजो साथीलाई भेटेँ।
주말에 집에서 쉬었어요.
I rested at home over the weekend.
सप्ताहन्तमा घरमा आराम गरेँ।
7.6Saying you did not
Negatives sit in front of the verb and the tense stays where it was, on the ending. 안 means “not” by choice; 못 means “couldn’t” — the ability or the opportunity was missing.
아침을 안 먹었어요.
I didn’t eat breakfast.
बिहानको खाना खाइनँ।
어제 학교에 못 갔어요.
I couldn’t go to school yesterday.
हिजो विद्यालय जान सकिनँ।
숙제를 안 했어요.
I didn’t do my homework.
गृहकार्य गरिनँ।
With 하다 verbs the 안 slips inside the word: 공부 안 했어요, not 안 공부했어요.