-았/었/였-
Past Tense
-았/었/였- is the basic past tense marker. It's added to verb and adjective stems to show that an action or state is finished.
How It Works
This is the fundamental way to express the past tense in Korean, similar to adding '-ed' to verbs in English. It attaches directly to the verb or adjective stem before the final sentence ending (like -요 or -ㅂ/습니다).
The form you use depends on the last vowel of the stem:
- Stems ending in ㅏ or ㅗ use -았-
가다 (to go) → 가 + -았- → 갔-
보다 (to see) → 보 + -았- → 봤- - Stems ending in any other vowel use -었-
먹다 (to eat) → 먹 + -었- → 먹었-
읽다 (to read) → 읽 + -었- → 읽었- - Stems ending in 하다 use -였- (which becomes 했다)
공부하다 (to study) → 공부하 + -였- → 공부했-
일하다 (to work) → 일하 + -였- → 일했-
After attaching the past tense marker, you add a sentence ending. For example:
먹었- + -어요 → 먹었어요. (I ate.)
갔- + -습니다 → 갔습니다. (I went. / formal)
Note: Many verbs have irregular conjugations in the past tense, but the basic rules above cover the majority of cases.
Examples (5)
- 어제 영화를 봤어요.
I watched a movie yesterday.
Word by Word: Yesterday movie watched.
- 점심을 먹었어요.
I ate lunch.
Word by Word: Lunch ate.
- 주말에 공부했어요.
I studied on the weekend.
Word by Word: Weekend on studied.
- 작년에는 학생이었어요.
Last year, I was a student.
Word by Word: Last year in student was.
For nouns, the past tense of 이다 is used. It becomes 이었어요 after a consonant and 였어요 after a vowel.
- 날씨가 아주 좋았어요.
The weather was very good.
Word by Word: Weather very was good.
Common Mistakes
Using the wrong vowel harmony rule.
Not Quite어제 친구를 보었어요.Better어제 친구를 봤어요.The verb stem of 보다 ends in the vowel ㅗ. Therefore, it must be followed by -았-, not -었-. 보 + 았어요 contracts to 봤어요.
Forgetting to contract 하다 verbs to 했다.
Different Meaning어제 운동하였어요.Better어제 운동했어요.While '운동하였어요' is grammatically correct, it sounds very formal or archaic. In modern spoken and written Korean, 하다 verbs are always contracted to 했다 in the past tense (e.g., 했어요, 했습니다).
Learn This First
To use past tense, you need both conjugation knowledge and time concepts.
Related Patterns
- Verb stems
-았/었/였- attaches directly to the verb stem. Understanding how to find the stem is the first step to conjugation.
- -(으)ㄹ 거(예요/야)Will, Probably
This is the future tense marker. It's useful to learn both past (-았/었/였-) and future (-ㄹ 거예요) tenses together to understand how to talk about different points in time.
- -요Politeness Marker
After attaching the past tense marker, you need a sentence ending. -요 is the most common polite ending used in everyday conversation (e.g., 먹었어요, 갔어요).
- Irregular verb patterns
While the rules for -았/었/였- are regular for most verbs, many common verbs are irregular (like 듣다 → 들었어요). It's important to be aware of these irregular patterns.
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
- -았/었던Had Been, Used to
- -았/었으면 좋겠다I Wish, I Hope
- -았/었을 것Would Have, Must Have
- -ㄴ/는/ㄹ 뻔했다Almost, Nearly
- -ㄴ/는/ㄹ 줄 몰랐다I Didn’t Know That…, I Had No Idea That…
- -ㄴ/는/ㄹ 줄 알았다I Thought That…, I Assumed That…
- -아/어 봤자Even if You Do
- -았/었더니When I Did, After Doing
And 2 more in the full list.