The past tense indicates that the action (or state) expressed by the verb occurred prior to the present moment. The past tense is formed by attaching the suffix -었 (았, 였). If the vowel in the verb stem is "ㅏ" or "ㅗ", the suffix is -았. If the vowel is "ㅓ", "ㅜ", "ㅡ" or "ㅣ", the suffix is -었. If the verb is 하다, the suffix is -였.
|
Verb |
Formal Style |
Informal Style |
|
가다 "go" |
갔습니다 |
갔어요 |
|
보다 "see" |
봤습니다 |
봤어요 |
|
먹다 "eat" |
먹었습니다 |
먹었어요 |
|
배우다 "study" |
배웠습니다 |
배웠어요 |
|
예쁘다 "beautiful" |
예뻤습니다 |
예뻤어요 |
|
좋다 "good" |
좋았습니다 |
좋았어요 |
|
치다 "strike" |
쳤습니다 |
쳤어요 |
|
하다 "do" |
하였습니다/했습니다 |
했어요 |
Note: When the verb stem ends with a vowel and then a tense suffix is added, vowels are usually merged for easier pronunciation. ㅏ +ㅏ=ㅏ, ㅗ+ㅏ=ㅘ, ㅜ+ㅓ=ㅝ, ㅡ+ㅓ=ㅓ, ㅣ+ㅓ=ㅕ, ㅏ+ㅕ=ㅐ.
Examples of the past tense:
어제 식당에 갔어요. "Yesterday I went to the restaurant."
지난 금요일에 친구를 만났어요. "Last Friday I met my friend."
그 여자는 어릴 때 아주 예뻤어요. "That woman was very pretty when she was a child."
When you want to express an action or state which occurred much earlier, or to stress that the was long, long ago, the post-past tense is used. This tense is expressed by redoubling the past tense suffix.
Examples of the post-past tense:
제 친구는 미국에 유학갔었어요. "My friend went to the USA to study."
그 여자는 가끔 푸른색의 옷을 입었었어요. "That woman used to wear blue clothes."
See Also: