Korean Grammar Beginner -Tenses- (3): Past A/V-았/어요

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I. Examples

The past tense form in Korean is made by adding -았/었- to their word stems. When the vowel part of the word stem ends in ㅏ or ㅗ, -았어요 is added, whereas -었어요 is added when the stem ends in any other vowel. For verbs and adjective whose word stem ends in 하다, -였어요 is added, which is shortened from “하+였어요” to 했어요. The formal polite style of 았어요/었어요/했어요 is 았습니다/었습니다/했습니다.

작년에 결혼했어요. (We married last year.)

2000년 1월 1일에 태어났어요.
((The baby) was born on January 1st, 2000.)

II. Grammar Point

1. ㅏ or ㅗ + 았어요 / 았습니다

앉다(sit) + -았어요 / 았습니다
= 앉았어요 / 앉았습니다(sat)

닫다(close) + -았어요 / 았습니다
= 닫았아요 / 닫았습니다(closed)

만나다(meet) + -았어요 / 았습니다
= 만났어요/만났습니다(met)
* 만나 + 았어요 –> 나 + 았 = 났

2. Other Vowels + 었어요 / 었습니다

A. Regular Form

씻다(wash) + -었어요 / 었습니다
= 씻었어요 / 씻었습니다(washed)

있다(there is / are) + -었어요 / 었습니다
= 있었어요 / 있었습니다(there was / were)

열다(open) + -었어요 / 었습니다
= 열었어요 / 열었습니다(opened)

B. Irregular Form

쓰다(write) + -었어요 / 었습니다
= 썼어요 / 썼었습니다(wrote)

줍다(pick) + -었어요 / 었습니다
= 주웠어요 / 주웠습니다(picked)

부르다(call) + -었어요 / 었습니다
= 불렀어요 / 불렀습니다(called)

3. Some Exceptions

주다(give) + -었어요
= both 주었어요 & 줬어
(contracted form) can be used

보다(see) + -았어요
= both 보았어요 & 봤어요
(contracted form) can be used

오다(come) + -았어요
= only 왔어요 can be used / 오았어요(X)

Like all languages, Korean grammar has rules, and of course, exceptions. So, encountering these exceptions might be challenging, but remember, learning a foreign language is a struggle everyone goes through. Do not get discouraged by these. Keep practicing and improving your overall Korean language skills, and naturally, you will grasp these exceptions as well.

4. 하다 –> 했어요 / 했습니다

공부하다(study)
–> 공부했어요 / 했습니다(studied)

운동하다(exercise)
–> 운동했어요 / 했습니다(exercised)

요리하다(cook)
–> 요리했어요 / 했습니다(cooked)

졸업하다(graduate)
–> 졸업했어요 / 했습니다(graduated)

5. 이다 –> 였어요 / 이었어요

A. Ending in Vowel –> 였어요 / 였습니다

간호사였어요 (was / were a nurse)
판사였어요 (was / were a judge)

B. Ending in Consonant –> 이었어요 / 이었습니다

경찰이었어요 (was / were a police)
군인이었어요 (was / were a soldier)

6. 아니다 –> 가 아니었어요 / 이 아니었어요

A. Ending in Vowel –> 가 아니었어요 / 아니었습니다

간호사가 아니었어요 (was / were not a nurse)
판사가 아니었어요 (was / were not a judge)

B. Ending in Consonant –> 이 아니었어요 / 아니었습니다

경찰이 아니었어요 (was / were not a police)
군인이 아니었어요 (was / were not a soldier)

III. Practice

노래를 ___ (부르다)
영화가 ___ (재미있다)
작년에 학교를 ___ (졸업하다)
넷플릭스를 ___ (보다)
친구가 나의 집에 ___ (오다)