Lesson 21 · -았/었어요: Talking About the Past
Hyeju’s Beginner Korean Grammar Class · Lesson 21
Talking About the Past: -았/었어요
Talk about past actions and states with -았/었어요, including contractions, irregular forms, noun endings, and six practice questions.
Introduction & Review
Use -았/었어요 for a completed action or a past state. Start with familiar -아/어요 forms from Lessons 5 and 16, then notice the past forms. Time words such as 어제 (yesterday) make the setting clear.
N = noun; V = action verb; A = descriptive verb. Romanization is a reading aid.
Today’s Grammar / Explanation
A stem whose last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ usually takes 았어요: 가다 → 갔어요; 보다 → 봤어요. Other vowels take 었어요: 먹다 → 먹었어요; 읽다 → 읽었어요.
하다 → 했어요. Useful contractions: 오다 → 왔어요; 마시다 → 마셨어요; 배우다 → 배웠어요. Irregulars: 듣다 → 들었어요; 춥다 → 추웠어요.
For nouns, use 이었어요 after a consonant and 였어요 after a vowel: 학생이었어요, 의사였어요. A = descriptive verb/adjective, so 좋다 → 좋았어요 also expresses a past state.
Examples
Compare with similar grammar
LESSON 5
-아/어요
오늘은 집에서 쉬어요.The present. The past is built on the same 아/어 form: 쉬어요 → 쉬었어요.
Review Lesson 5 →LESSON 18
-고 있었어요
그때 저는 자고 있었어요.The simple past says something happened. -고 있었어요 says it was in progress at that moment.
Review Lesson 18 →LESSON 55
-(으)ㄴ 적이 있어요
한국에 가 본 적이 있어요.The past tense reports an event. -(으)ㄴ 적이 있어요 talks about experience: “have ever…”.
Look ahead: Lesson 55 →| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -았/었어요 | did, was | 어제 영화를 봤어요 |
| -고 있었어요 | was doing | 그때 영화를 보고 있었어요 |
| -(으)ㄴ 적이 있어요 | have done (experience) | 그 영화를 본 적이 있어요 |
| -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | will do | 내일 볼 거예요 |
Mini Dialogue
A: 어제 뭐 했어요?
eoje mwo haesseoyo · What did you do yesterday?
B: 친구를 만났어요.
chingureul mannasseoyo · I met a friend.
A: 영화도 봤어요?
yeonghwado bwasseoyo · Did you watch a movie too?
B: 네, 정말 재미있었어요.
ne, jeongmal jaemiisseosseoyo · Yes, it was really fun.
Common mistakes
A past action does not automatically mean it happened only once. 어제 공부했어요 describes yesterday; 매일 공부했어요 describes a past routine. Keep tense on the predicate: 어제 가요 is not the ordinary beginner pattern for reporting yesterday’s completed trip.
만나 ends in ㅏ, so it takes 았, and the two merge: 만났어요.
ㅡ drops, then the vowel before it picks 았: 바빴어요.
하다 becomes 했어요 in the past.
After a consonant, the past of 이에요 is 이었어요. After a vowel it’s 였어요: 의사였어요.
Mini practice · six questions
All sentences below are new. Try each one before opening the answer.
- Fill in the blank어제 저녁에 김치찌개를 ______. (먹다)
Check answer
어제 저녁에 김치찌개를 먹었어요.
먹 → 었어요: 먹었어요.
- Fill in the blank · contraction주말에 친구가 우리 집에 ______. (오다)
Check answer
주말에 친구가 우리 집에 왔어요.
오 + 았어요 → 왔어요.
- Choose the correct form작년에 저는 대학생(이었어요 / 였어요).
Check answer
이었어요
대학생 ends in a consonant → 이었어요.
- Choose the correct form어제는 정말 (춥었어요 / 추웠어요).
Check answer
추웠어요
춥다 is ㅂ-irregular: 추워요 → 추웠어요.
- Find and fix the mistake어제 친구하고 노래방에 가았요.
Check answer
어제 친구하고 노래방에 갔어요.
가 + 았어요 → 갔어요. The ending is 았어요, not 았요.
- Say it in KoreanI studied Korean for two hours yesterday.
Check answer
어제 한국어를 두 시간 공부했어요.
공부하다 → 공부했어요. Hours use native numbers: 두 시간.
Today’s Key Point
-았/었어요 reports past actions and states.
Memorize useful forms: 했어요, 봤어요, 들었어요.
Nouns use 이었어요 / 였어요.
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