Past Tense · -았어요/었어요
3. Examples
Example 1 — What I did yesterday
어제 점심을 먹었어요.
eo-je jeom-si-meul meo-geo-sseo-yo.
→ I ate lunch yesterday.
친구를 만났어요.
chin-gu-reul man-na-sseo-yo.
→ I met a friend.
영화를 봤어요.
yeong-hwa-reul bwa-sseo-yo.
→ I watched a movie.
집에서 잤어요.
ji-be-seo ja-sseo-yo.
→ I slept at home.Each sentence has a time word or a clear daily action, and the verb ends in the past form. The choice between 았 and 었 follows the last vowel, so 먹 gives 먹었어요 and 만나 gives 만났어요.
The same verb form works for I, you or they. You can leave out the subject when the context is clear.
Example 2 — 하다 verbs
어제 숙제를 했어요.
eo-je suk-je-reul hae-sseo-yo.
→ I did my homework yesterday.
도서관에서 공부했어요.
do-seo-gwa-ne-seo gong-bu-hae-sseo-yo.
→ I studied at the library.
지난주에 일했어요.
ji-nan-ju-e il-hae-sseo-yo.
→ I worked last week.
저는 한국 음식을 좋아했어요.
jeo-neun han-guk eum-si-geul jo-a-hae-sseo-yo.
→ I liked Korean food.Every verb here ends in 했어요. The word 하다 is on its own in the first sentence, and it is part of 공부하다, 일하다 and 좋아하다 in the others.
You can rely on this pattern for a large share of Korean verbs. If a verb ends in 하다, the past is 했어요 and there is nothing else to think about.
Example 3 — Adjectives and 이다
어제 날씨가 좋았어요.
eo-je nal-ssi-ga jo-a-sseo-yo.
→ The weather was nice yesterday.
그 영화는 재미있었어요.
geu yeong-hwa-neun jae-mi-i-sseo-sseo-yo.
→ That movie was fun.
저는 작년에 학생이었어요.
jeo-neun jang-nyeo-ne hak-saeng-i-eo-sseo-yo.
→ I was a student last year.
아버지는 의사였어요.
a-beo-ji-neun ui-sa-yeo-sseo-yo.
→ My father was a doctor.Adjectives work just like verbs. 좋다 has ㅗ, so it becomes 좋았어요, and 재미있다 ends in 있, so it becomes 재미있었어요.
For 이다, check the noun. 학생 ends in a consonant, so it takes 이었어요, and 의사 ends in a vowel, so it takes 였어요.
Example 4 — Questions and answers
어제 뭐 했어요?
eo-je mwo hae-sseo-yo?
→ What did you do yesterday?
친구를 만났어요.
chin-gu-reul man-na-sseo-yo.
→ I met a friend.
아까 커피를 마셨어요?
a-kka keo-pi-reul ma-syeo-sseo-yo?
→ Did you drink coffee a little while ago?
네, 마셨어요.
ne, ma-syeo-sseo-yo.
→ Yes, I did.
주말에 어디에 갔어요?
ju-ma-re eo-di-e ga-sseo-yo?
→ Where did you go on the weekend?To ask a past question, use the same form and raise your voice at the end. Question words such as 뭐 and 어디 go in the usual place, and the verb ends in the past form.
In a short answer you can simply repeat the verb, as in 네, 마셨어요. Korean has no word for do or did here, so you repeat the verb itself.