Understanding Korean Past Tense
In Korean, the past tense is used to talk about things that have already happened. It's like talking about yesterday or things you did last week. To make a verb past tense in Korean, you need to change the ending of the verb.
How to Form the Past Tense
Important Points
- Find the verb stem: Remove '다' from the dictionary form of the verb.
- Add '았어요', '었어요', or '였어요' to the verb stem.
- '았어요' is used if the last vowel in the verb stem is 'ㅏ' or 'ㅗ'.
- '었어요' is used if the last vowel is anything other than 'ㅏ' or 'ㅗ'.
- '였어요' is used with the verb '하다'.
Examples of Past Tense Verbs
Examples
- 가다 -> 가았어요 (went)
- 먹다 -> 먹었어요 (ate)
- 하다 -> 하였어요 (did)
Important Tips to Remember
Practice with Common Verbs
Important Points
- '가다' (to go) becomes '갔어요' (went)
- '먹다' (to eat) becomes '먹었어요' (ate)
- '하다' (to do) becomes '했어요' (did)
Practicing with these examples will help you get comfortable with how to use the past tense in Korean. Try changing different verbs to the past tense to see how it works!