Korean grammar patterns › Level 1
-았/었-
past tense (did, was)
Level 1 · TOPIK I · beginner
How to use it
Goes after the stem and before the ending to put an action or state in the past: 갔어요, 갔습니다. Choose -았- or -었- by the stem's last vowel, like -아/어요.
Forming it
| 가다 | → 갔어요 |
| 먹다 | → 먹었어요 |
| 일하다 | → 일했어요 |
| 학생 | → 학생이었어요 |
Contract the vowels: 가+았 → 갔, 오+았 → 왔, 마시+었 → 마셨. Nouns: 의사였어요 (after vowel), 학생이었어요 (after batchim).
Examples
어제 친구하고 같이 저녁을 먹었어요.
I had dinner with a friend yesterday.
작년에는 저도 학생이었어요.
Last year I was a student too.
Compared with similar patterns
-았/었었- stresses that a past situation no longer holds ('used to, but not anymore'); plain -았/었- simply says it happened in the past.