Ever wanted to say “I went,” “I ate,” or “I studied” in Korean? Today you’ll learn the most useful past tense form used in everyday conversation: -았/었어요. By the end, you’ll be able to talk about yesterday, last weekend, and share short stories with confidence.

The core pattern: -았/었어요

In polite Korean, the past tense is formed by adding -았어요 or -었어요 to the verb stem.

• If the stem’s vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ → use -았어요
• Otherwise → use -었어요
• Special: 하다 → 했어요

A verb stem is the verb without 다:

• 가다 (to go) → 가 (stem) + 았어요 → 갔어요
• 먹다 (to eat) → 먹 (stem) + 었어요 → 먹었어요
• 보다 (to see/watch) → 보 + 았어요 → 보았어요 → 봤어요 (contracted)
• 오다 (to come) → 오 + 았어요 → 왔어요 (contracted)
• 하다 (to do) → 하 + 었어요/였어요 → 했어요 (contracted)

저는 어제 영화를 .

Check the pattern with a conjugation table

Here’s how 가다 (to go) looks in the past tense. Note: Korean endings don’t change by person, but seeing different subjects can help you sound natural.

High-frequency verbs in the past

• 했어요: did (from 하다)
• 갔어요: went (from 가다)
• 왔어요: came (from 오다)
• 먹었어요: ate (from 먹다)
• 봤어요: saw/watched (from 보다)
• 만났어요: met (from 만나다)

Tip: These are perfect for small talk about your day or weekend.

Cultural note: Small talk about the past

In Korean, it’s common to ask “어제 뭐 했어요?” (What did you do yesterday?) or “지난 주말에 뭐 했어요?” (What did you do last weekend?) with friends or classmates. Use the polite past -았/었어요 with people you’re not close to. With close friends, you might hear the casual past -았/었어 (e.g., 갔어, 먹었어).

Common contractions and irregulars (A2-friendly)

You’ll often see contractions that make speech smoother:

• 보았어요 → 봤어요
• 오았어요 → 왔어요
• 사았어요 → 샀어요
• 배우었어요 → 배웠어요

A few high-frequency irregulars:

• 듣다 → 들었어요 (ㄷ → ㄹ before a vowel)
• 모르다 → 몰랐어요 (르 irregular)
• 덥다 → 더웠어요 (ㅂ → 우 → 워)
• 아니다 → 아니었어요 (descriptive verb ‘to not be’)

Don’t worry—focus on the ones you use most in daily life: 들었어요, 몰랐어요, 더웠어요, 아니었어요.

보았어요 → 봤어요 Use the common contraction for smoother speech. 아니였어요 → 아니었어요 The correct form is 아니었어요 (insert ㅕ). 간어요 → 갔어요 Don’t mix present -아요 with past. Use -았/었어요.

Practice building sentences

Use time words + activity + -았/었어요. Keep word order Subject + (Time) + Place + Object + Verb.

Try another:

지난 주말에 부모님을 .

Negative past: didn’t / couldn’t

To say you didn’t do something, use 안 + verb (past polite ending remains):

• 어제 운동 안 했어요. (I didn’t work out yesterday.)

To say you couldn’t, use 못 + verb:

• 저는 시간이 없어서 못 갔어요. (I couldn’t go because I didn’t have time.)

Put a mini-conversation in order

Arrange the lines to form a natural dialogue about last weekend.

Quick checklist for past tense

• Use -았어요 with ㅏ/ㅗ stems (갔어요, 봤어요, 샀어요)
• Use -었어요 with other vowels (먹었어요, 배웠어요)
• 하다 → 했어요
• Watch common irregulars (들었어요, 몰랐어요, 더웠어요, 아니었어요)
• Time words: 어제, 지난 주말(에), 지난주(에), 지난달(에)

어제 집에 .

More natural examples you can reuse

• 저는 어제 집에서 쉬었어요. (I rested at home yesterday.)
• 친구하고 영화를 봤어요. (I watched a movie with a friend.)
• 날씨가 더웠어요. 그래서 수영했어요. (It was hot. So I went swimming.)
• 한국어 수업이 있었어요. (There was a Korean class.)

Final practice and encouragement

Think of three things you did last weekend. Try to say them in Korean using -았/었어요. If you’re not sure, start with templates:

• 지난 주말에 ____ 했어요.
• 어제 ____를/을 ____했어요.
• 저는 ____에 ____ 갔어요.

Keep noticing the stem vowel and choosing -았어요 or -었어요, and keep an eye out for the few irregulars you’ll meet often. You’ve got this—어제 배운 것을 오늘도 연습해요!