haru Korean › Grammar › Level 1A › V-았/었어요
V-았/었어요 — the past tense — 'I did …'
The past tense — 'I did …'. Korean grammar for beginner learners — Level 1A, lesson 7: 주말에 뭐 했어요? (What did you do at the weekend? — the past tense).
What it means
-았/었어요 is the past of -아요/어요, and it follows the same vowel rule as Lesson 5: last vowel ㅏ or ㅗ → 았어요 (찾았어요), any other vowel → 었어요 (먹었어요), and 하다 → 했어요. Without a 받침 the vowels join, just as in 가요 and 마셔요: 가 + 았어요 → 갔어요, 보 + 았어요 → 봤어요, 마시 + 었어요 → 마셨어요. An easy check: take the present form and put ㅆ어요 in place of 요 — 봐요 → 봤어요, 해요 → 했어요.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -았어요 | last vowel ㅏ · ㅗ | 찾다 + 았어요 → 찾았어요 |
| -었어요 | any other vowel | 먹다 + 었어요 → 먹었어요 |
| 하다 → 했어요 | 하다 verbs | 공부하다 → 공부했어요 |
Key points
- V-았/었어요 — ㅏ · ㅗ → 았어요 · other vowels → 었어요 · 하다 → 했어요
- The same vowel rule as -아요/어요 in Lesson 5: 봐요 → 봤어요 · 먹어요 → 먹었어요 · 해요 → 했어요
Examples
- 봐요 → 봤어요. 먹어요 → 먹었어요. 공부해요 → 공부했어요.
- 어제 친구를 만났어요.
- 어제 영화관에서 영화를 봤어요.
- 어제 뭐 했어요? — 한국어를 공부했어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 1A, lesson 5; Yonsei University Korean 1-1, lesson 10; Sogang University Korean 1A, lesson 4; Ewha Womans University Korean 1-1, lesson 6; Hanyang University Korean 1-1, lesson 3.
Also in this lesson
- 날짜 · 요일 + N에 — dates and days + 에 — 'on Saturday', 'on the ninth of October'
- V-고 — -고 — 'and (then)' between two actions