Elementary - Grade 4

Lesson 1: Past Tense Conjugation

(았어요 / 었어요 / 했어요)

From "I eat" to "I ate"

You already know how to say what you are doing. Now let's talk about what you did.

저는 밥을 먹어요. = "I eat rice."
저는 밥을 먹었어요. = "I ate rice."

Here is the good news: the past tense uses the exact same three rules you learned for the present tense. You just swap the ending.

Step 1: Find the "Stem"

Same as always. Drop the 다 (da) from the dictionary form.

먹다 (meokda) 먹 (meok)
가다 (gada) 가 (ga)

Step 2: Apply One of Three Rules

Look at the stem and pick a rule — exactly like the present tense, but the ending now carries ㅆ어요.

Rule 1: The '하다' (hada) Rule

If the verb is 하다 or ends in 하다, it becomes 했어요.

공부하다 공부했어요 (gongbuhaesseoyo)

Rule 2: The '았어요' (asseoyo) Rule

If the last vowel of the stem is ㅏ (a) or ㅗ (o), add 았어요.

가다 (gada) 가 + 았어요 갔어요 (gasseoyo)
오다 (oda) 오 + 았어요 왔어요 (wasseoyo)

The vowels merge just like before: 가 + 았 = 갔, and 오 + 았 = 왔.

Rule 3: The '었어요' (eosseoyo) Rule

If the last vowel of the stem is ANYTHING ELSE (어, 우, 이, 으 …), add 었어요.

먹다 (meokda) 먹 + 었어요 먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo)
마시다 (masida) 마시 + 었어요 마셨어요 (masyeosseoyo)

More merging: 이 + 었 = 였.

A Shortcut You Can Trust

If you can already say it in the present tense, you are one step away. Take the present tense form, drop the 요, and add ㅆ어요.

가요 갔어요
먹어요 먹었어요
해요 했어요

"Was" and "Were" (이었어요 / 였어요)

To say something was something, use the past form of 이다.

Ends in a consonant 이었어요

학생 → 학생이었어요 "was a student"

Ends in a vowel 였어요

가수 → 가수였어요 "was a singer"

Let's Build Sentences!

Add a time word like 어제 (yesterday) and you are telling a story.

  • 저는 어제 학교에 갔어요.

    "I went to school yesterday." (From 가다 + 았어요)

  • 동생이 빵을 먹었어요.

    "My sibling ate bread." (From 먹다 + 었어요)

  • 우리는 집에서 공부했어요.

    "We studied at home." (From 공부하다 → 공부했어요)

  • 그 사람은 제 친구였어요.

    "That person was my friend." (친구 + 였어요)

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