Past Tense · -았어요/었어요

5. Summary

• Past tense is stem + -았어요 or -었어요. The form is the same for every person.
• Last vowel ㅏ or ㅗ takes -았어요, as in 좋았어요 and 살았어요. Other vowels take -었어요, as in 먹었어요 and 읽었어요.
• 하다 and all 하다 verbs become 했어요: 공부했어요 and 일했어요. Never say 하었어요.
• A stem that ends in a vowel usually joins the ending: 갔어요, 왔어요, 봤어요, 마셨어요 and 배웠어요.
• 이다 becomes 이었어요 after a consonant and 였어요 after a vowel: 학생이었어요 and 의사였어요.
• Use time words such as 어제, 지난주 and 아까 with the past, and ask a question by raising your voice: 먹었어요?
• Next lesson: Negation (안, -지 않아요).