You already know the hard part
The Korean past tense reuses the exact vowel logic of the present. Take the stem, choose 았 (after ㅏ or ㅗ) or 었 (after anything else), then close with 어요. 하다 verbs take 했어요. If you can say 살아요, you can say 살았어요; the choice between 았 and 었 never differs from the present-tense choice between 아 and 어.
All the present-tense contractions carry over too. 가다 gives 갔어요, 오다 gives 왔어요, 마시다 gives 마셨어요, 배우다 gives 배웠어요, and 쓰다 drops its ㅡ to give 썼어요.
| Verb | Present | Past |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 (go) | 가요 | 갔어요 |
| 먹다 (eat) | 먹어요 | 먹었어요 |
| 하다 (do) | 해요 | 했어요 |
| 마시다 (drink) | 마셔요 | 마셨어요 |
| 보다 (watch) | 봐요 | 봤어요 |
| 오다 (come) | 와요 | 왔어요 |
| 좋다 (be good) | 좋아요 | 좋았어요 |
Reading the double s
On paper the past marker is a tense ㅆ in the batchim slot: 갔, 먹었, 했. Before the 어요 that follows, it links over as a tight, hard s sound. 갔어요 is pronounced ga-sseo-yo. If your s is lazy, the word can sound like the present, so give it real pressure.
| 어제 친구를 만났어요. | I met a friend yesterday. eo-je chin-gu-reul man-na-sseo-yo, 만나다 → 만났어요 |
| 아침에 커피를 마셨어요. | I drank coffee in the morning. a-chi-me keo-pi-reul ma-syeo-sseo-yo |
| 주말에 뭐 했어요? | What did you do on the weekend? ju-ma-re mwo hae-sseo-yo, the Monday-morning question |
The past of 'to be'
The copula 이에요/예요 has its own past pair: 이었어요 after a consonant, 였어요 after a vowel. 학생이었어요 means 'was a student'; 가수였어요 means 'was a singer'. Existence verb 있어요 becomes 있었어요, and its negative 없어요 becomes 없었어요.
| 저는 학생이었어요. | I was a student. jeo-neun hak-saeng-i-eo-sseo-yo, 이었어요 after the consonant ㅇ |
| 어제는 집에 있었어요. | Yesterday I was at home. eo-je-neun ji-be i-sseo-sseo-yo, 있다 → 있었어요 |
Time words that set the scene
Time expressions usually come early in the sentence, right after or in place of the topic. Korean past tense covers both English simple past and present perfect in most everyday contexts: 먹었어요 answers both 'I ate' and 'I have eaten'.
- 어제 (eo-je): yesterday
- 아까 (a-kka): a little while ago
- 지난주 (ji-nan-ju): last week
- 지난달 (ji-nan-dal): last month
- 작년 (jang-nyeon): last year, pronounced with ㄱ turning into ㅇ
- 아침에 (a-chi-me): in the morning
| 지난주에 서울에 갔어요. | I went to Seoul last week. ji-nan-ju-e seo-u-re ga-sseo-yo, 에 marks the time as well as the place |
| 어제는 비가 왔어요. | It rained yesterday. eo-je-neun bi-ga wa-sseo-yo, literally: rain came |
Negating the past
Put 안 directly before the verb: 안 먹었어요, 'did not eat'. For 하다 verbs, 안 slips between the noun and 하다: 공부 안 했어요, 'did not study'. This is the same 안 you use in the present, so negation costs you nothing new.
| 밥을 안 먹었어요. | I did not eat. ba-beul an meo-geo-sseo-yo, 안 sits right before the verb |
| 어제 공부 안 했어요. | I did not study yesterday. eo-je gong-bu an hae-sseo-yo, 안 splits noun and 하다 |
Resist inventing a perfect tense. 갔어요 already covers 'went', 'has gone' and 'did go'. Reach for extra machinery only when Korean itself demands it, which at this level it does not.
Pronunciation corner
The past marker lives or dies on the tense double s. Practice these until the tightness is automatic.
| 갔어요 (gasseoyo) | [ka.s͈ʌ.jo] | ka-ssuh-yo, with a hard, pressed s, never a soft one |
| 했어요 (haesseoyo) | [hɛ.s͈ʌ.jo] | heh-ssuh-yo, same tight s in the middle |
| 이었어요 (ieosseoyo) | [i.ʌ.s͈ʌ.jo] | ee-uh-ssuh-yo, four light syllables |
| 만났어요 (mannasseoyo) | [man.na.s͈ʌ.jo] | hold the double n briefly: man-na, then the tight s |
Practice drill
Convert each polite present form into the polite past.
가요Show answer
갔어요
먹어요Show answer
먹었어요
공부해요Show answer
공부했어요
마셔요Show answer
마셨어요
봐요Show answer
봤어요
와요Show answer
왔어요
좋아요Show answer
좋았어요
배워요Show answer
배웠어요
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose between 았어요 and 었어요?
Look at the stem's last vowel, exactly as in the present tense. ㅏ or ㅗ take 았어요, everything else takes 었어요, and 하다 verbs take 했어요. If you conjugate the present correctly, the past follows automatically.
Does Korean have a present perfect like 'I have eaten'?
The plain past covers it in everyday speech. 먹었어요 serves for 'I ate' and 'I have eaten'. Korean has other constructions for ongoing results, but you do not need them at A2.
Why is the past marker written with a double ㅆ?
The marker is the tense consonant ㅆ added under the vowel: 가 + ㅆ gives 갔. Before 어요 it links over as a tight s sound, which is what audibly separates 갔어요 from 가요.
How do I say 'was' for nouns, like 'it was my birthday'?
Use the past copula: 이었어요 after a consonant, 였어요 after a vowel. 생일이었어요 (saeng-i-ri-eo-sseo-yo), it was my birthday. 친구였어요 (chin-gu-yeo-sseo-yo), he was a friend.