13. Korean Past Tense
Simple Past
Korean past tense actually has a lot of differences than English past tense. But for now, we will focus on its most basic use. It describes what happened in the past just like English past tense does.
저는 오늘 기타쳤어요
I played guitar today
But, Korean past tense doesn’t imply that the current state is different. Of course, it implies the current state can be different but the nuance isn’t strong much and not all the time. It only describes the state at the past moment.
준은 제 친한 친구였어요
Jun was my close friend
=You don’t know if Jun is still his close friend or not
with 하다 verb (do / be + adjective)
In Korean present tense lesson, you’ve learn Korean present tense is the most basic form of all conjugations. Now you need to add past tense conjugation between a verb conjugation and ending.
하다 Conjugation becomes ‘했어요’ or ‘었어요’ or ‘았어요’ with 해요 speech style. It’s very similar to Korean present tense rules except it adds ㅆ 받침,
하다 style | 해요 colloquial style | |
After a noun | After a root | |
하다 → 했다 | noun + 하 + 었 + 어요 = noun + 했어요 |
root + 었 + 어요 / 았 +어요 = root + 었어요 / 았어요 |
Basic form : 하다 | noun + verb + Past + ending | root + verb + Past + ending |
Did + Noun Did + Stem Was + Adjective |
Did + Noun Did + Stem Was + Adjective |
Did + Noun Did + Stem Was + Adjective |
저는 오늘 공부했어요
I studied today
= DId (Noun + 했어요)
저는 영화 봤어요
I watched a movie
= Did (Root + 았어요)
피자 먹었어요
I ate pizza / I had pizza
= Did (Root + 었어요)
저는 우울했어요
I was depressed
= Was / were + adjective (Noun + 했어요)
었 makes the past tense
This is a great tip. 었 makes the past tense always. But, it can be different when it’s conjugated with another word. so remember 받침 ㅆ always make the past tense when it’s placed before the ending.
with 이다 verb (be a noun)
이다 verb conjugation makes similar meanings to 하다 verb conjugation but it has 2 more meaning which are ‘be + noun’ and ‘be + location’. However, locative 이다 in past tense is a bit tricky to use more than locative 이다 in the present tense. You will learn about in a higher level.
이다 variations change by the presence of 받침, not the word stem. 이다 becomes ‘이었어요’ or ‘였어요’ with 해요 speech style.
Basic Form (하다 style) | 해요 colloquial style | |
after a noun with 받침 | after a noun without 받침 | |
이다 → 였다 | 이 + 었 + 어요 = 이었어요 |
이 + 었 +어요 = 였어요 |
Basic form : 이다 | Verb + Past + Ending | Verb + Past + Ending |
Was + Noun Was + Adjective DId + Root |
Was + Noun Was + Adjective DId + Root |
Was + Noun Was + Adjective DId + Root |
저는 예쁜 유니콘이었어요
I was a pretty unicorn
= After a noun with 받침
저는 작곡가였어요
I was a song writer
= After a noun without 받침
그 방법은 윤리적이였어요
That method was ethical
= After an adjective with 받침
저는 양을 반으로 줄였어요
I cut down the amount half
= Did + Root
Pronunciation of 이었어요
이었어요 sounds like 였어요 if you say it fast. It makes speech flows softly. When you pronounce 이었어요, put an accent on 이. It’s same to 이예요 and 예요 in Korean present tense lesson
with 있다 verb (location / possession)
있다 is used to describe location and possession. It needs a locative adverb for describing location. Just like 있다 present tense conjugation, 있다 past conjugation has only one variation. Tense conjugation is always placed between a verb conjugation and ending.
있다 becomes 있었어요 in 해요 speech style. It’s the easiest one also in Korean past tense conjugations.
하다 style | 해요 colloquial style |
있다 → 있었다 | 있 + 었 + 어요 = 있었어요 |
Basic form : 있다 | Verb + Past + Ending |
Was (location / time) Had (possession) |
Was (location / time) Had (possession) |
준은 1시간 전에 여기 있었어요
Jun was here an hour ago
= Location
저는 어렸을 때 피아노가 있었어요
I had a piano when I was a kid
= Possession
More Natural
Using 있었어요 for location sounds a bit weird somehow. But, it’ll sounds much more natural if you use locative adverbs or temporal adverbs.
준은 있었어요
There was Jun
= It sounds a bit unnatural
준은 거기 있었어요
Jun was there
= It sounds much better. 거기 means ‘there’
TEAM JUNICORNS
All tutorials was possible thanks to
- Nadine C
- Za
- Paul
- AnneL
- Starvro
- Chris M
- Emily M
- Carly Sisson
- Lev Izraelit
- Tuoc Phan
DISCOUNT
DON'T MISS THE SPECIAL OFFERThis Course Was $15
$15, maybe it’s nothing that you can earn after a couple of hours of labor. Or, maybe you have to work for full days to earn it only because of where you were born. And $15, It’s the average price of Korean textbooks. Life is unfair. But that’s why we can help each other, we are helping each other.
This Is Why I Published My Textbook For Free
I didn’t make it possible alone. A lot of people helped me and encouraged me and, of course, support me. I really appreciate my supporters, Team Junicorns. If my tutorials are helpful or if you want to share the same dream, join the Team Junicorns and support me to keep going.



Go Team Junicorn!
Why Korean Jun?
Super Real Korean
Do you really use some words such as ‘a little boy’, ‘lions’ or ‘carrot’ everyday? So, I’m not going to teach those.
The Magical POWER
The ancient magical language from the far far land. Learn Korean and it’ll make you look 500% more charming.
No Fake, No False
Some wise man in the internet age said ‘Don’t believe the internet’. However, in Korean Jun, any tutorial is triple checked! Accurate than any textbooks.
Build Korean Brain
Instead of forcing you to memorize words. I’m going to make you understand how Korean grammar really works. Learn Korean grammar triple faster!
Super Duper High-Quality
This is not just an internet free learning material. I spent years for the Core Grammar course.