Language/Korean/Grammar/Past-Tense

Korean Grammar → Verb Tenses → Past Tense

As a Korean language teacher for 20 years, I have seen how difficult it is for beginners to understand the Korean language. However, with proper guidance, anyone can learn this beautiful and complex language. In this lesson, we will be focusing on the past tense in Korean. We will explore how to form past tense verbs and use them in sentences to describe past events. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to construct and understand basic past tense sentences.

Forming the Past Tense

In the present tense, Korean verbs always end in 다 (da). However, in the past tense, the verb base changes and a new suffix is added. The suffix for past tense verbs is -았/었 (at/eot). The suffix you should use will depend on the verb’s stem type. There are five stem types in Korean:

• ㄹ irregular verbs
• ㅂ irregular verbs
• ㅅ irregular verbs
• 으 irregular verbs
• Regular verbs

For the sake of space, we will only provide examples for regular verbs. In regular verbs, you need to remove the 다 (da) ending from the verb, and then attach -았/었 (at/eot). If the verb stem ends with a vowel, attach -었 (eot). Otherwise, attach -았 (at).

Here's a table to illustrate how to form the past tense:

Korean	Pronunciation	English
먹다	meokda	to eat
Verb stem (먹) + -았/었	meok + at/eot	ate
먹었어요	meogeosseoyo	I ate (polite)

As you can see, it's not too difficult to form the past tense of a verb.

Using the Past Tense

To make a past tense sentence in Korean, first, you need to determine the tense of the verb you want to use. After that, you put the subject, then the object, and finally, the verb.

Here's an example:

• I ate an apple.

저는 사과를 먹었어요. (Jeoneun sagwareul meogeosseoyo.)

In this sentence, the subject is "I" and the object is "an apple." The verb is "ate," which is in the past tense form "먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo)." Note that the subject is marked by the particle "는 (neun)" and the object is marked by the particle "를 (reul)."

Another example:

• I studied Korean yesterday.

저는 어제 한국어를 공부했어요. (Jeoneun eoje hangukeoreul gongbuhaesseoyo.)

In this sentence, the subject is "I" and the object is "Korean." The verb is "studied," which is in the past tense form "공부했어요 (gongbuhaesseoyo)." Here, the subject is marked by the particle "는 (neun)," and the object is marked by the particle "를 (reul)"

You can also use time expressions to specify when the past event happened. Here are some examples:

• Yesterday: 어제 (eoje)
• Last month: 지난 달 (jinan dal)
• Last year: 작년 (jagyeon)

Here is an example sentence that includes a time expression:

• I ate lunch yesterday.

저는 어제 점심을 먹었어요. (Jeoneun eoje jeomsimeul meogeosseoyo.)

Note in this sentence, the time expression 어제 (eoje), meaning yesterday, is added to specify when the past event, 'ate lunch', happened in relation to the present.

Summary

In this lesson, we learned how to form and use the past tense in Korean. We saw that the suffix for past tense verbs is -았/었 (at/eot) depending on the stem type, and that to make a past tense sentence in Korean, we need to determine the tense of the verb, followed by the subject, object, and the verb. We also saw examples of time expressions that can be used to specify when a past event happened. Keep practicing so that you can easily form and use past tense verbs in Korean!

Sources

• Korean Language
• Korean Verbs

Table of Contents - Korean Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Korean Alphabets

• Reading and writing Korean Alphabets
• Korean Pronunciation
• Subject and Object Markers

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Greetings and Introductions

• Hello and Goodbye
• Introducing Yourself
• Family and Friends

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Korean Culture and Customs

• Korean Etiquette
• Korean Holidays
• Korean Cuisine

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Sentence Building

• Basic Verb Conjugation
• Question Words
• Connecting Verbs

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Daily Routine

• Daily Activities
• Means of Transportation
• Weather and Seasons

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Korean Pop Culture

• Korean Dramas
• Korean Music
• Korean Cinema

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Describing People and Things

• Describing People
• Describing Things
• Comparatives and Superlatives

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Food and Drinks

• Food and Ingredients
• Drinks
• Cooking and Recipes

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Korean Traditions

• Korean Weddings
• Korean Festivals
• Korean Games and Sports

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Verb Tenses

• Past Tense
• Future Tense
• Progressive Tense

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Travel and Sightseeing

• Travel Vocabulary
• Sightseeing Vocabulary
• Shopping Vocabulary

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Korean Arts and Crafts

• Korean Calligraphy
• Korean Pottery
• Korean Paper Crafts

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Conjunctions and Connectors

• Conjunctions
• Connectors
• Conditional Sentences

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Health and Body

• Body Parts
• Health Vocabulary
• Exercise and Fitness Vocabulary

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Korean Nature

• Korean National Parks
• Korean Folk Villages
• Korean Eco-Friendly Practices