Past Tense -았/었어요

What it means

This ending talks about the past: things you did or that happened — "went", "ate", "studied", "was". It works like adding "-ed" in English.

How to make it

• Add -았- or -었- to the verb stem, then add -어요. The vowel rule is the same as the present tense.
• Last vowel ㅏ or ㅗ → -았어요: 가다 → 갔어요, 오다 → 왔어요, 보다 → 봤어요
• Any other vowel → -었어요: 먹다 → 먹었어요, 마시다 → 마셨어요
• 하다 → 했어요: 공부하다 → 공부했어요
• Noun ending in a consonant → 이었어요: 학생 → 학생이었어요
• Noun ending in a vowel → 였어요: 의사 → 의사였어요

When to use it

• A finished action: 어제 친구 집에 갔어요. = I went to my friend's house yesterday.
• Asking about the past: 아침을 먹었어요? = Did you eat breakfast?
• With time words like 어제 (yesterday), 지난주 (last week), 작년 (last year): 지난주에 한국어를 열심히 공부했어요. = I studied Korean hard last week.
• What someone was in the past: 저는 작년에 학생이었어요. = I was a student last year.

Compare

• Present vs past: 가요 (I go) → 갔어요 (I went), 먹어요 (I eat) → 먹었어요 (I ate), 해요 (I do) → 했어요 (I did)

Common mistakes

• ❌ 갓어요 → ✅ 갔어요 (the past marker is a double ㅆ, not ㅅ)
• ❌ 먹았어요 → ✅ 먹었어요 (ㅓ is not ㅏ or ㅗ, so -었어요)
• ❌ 의사이었어요 → ✅ 의사였어요 (after a vowel, use 였어요)