📝 Grammar A2

-았/었어요

-ass/eosseoyo

Past tense (polite)

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What it means

The past tense ending in polite speech. Add -았어요 after stems with bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ) and -었어요 after others. Describes completed actions or past states.

Nuance & when to use

-았/었어요 is always polite. The casual past drops -요: 먹었어. This ending can also express a current state from a past action: 왔어요 = I came / I'm here now.

⚠ Common mistake

Vowel harmony trips up beginners: stems with ㅏ or ㅗ use -았어요 (봤어요, 갔어요); all others use -었어요 (먹었어요, 왔어요). Always check the last vowel of the stem.

Example sentences

어제 친구를 만났어요. Eoje chingureul mannatsseoyo. I met a friend yesterday.
아침을 아직 못 먹었어요. Achimeul ajik mot meogeosseoyo. I haven't eaten breakfast yet.
한국에 작년에 처음 왔어요. Hanguke jangnyeone cheoeum wasseoyo. I first came to Korea last year.
영화를 보고 많이 울었어요. Yeonghwareul bogo mani ureosseoyo. I watched the movie and cried a lot.

See also

-겠어요 -ㄹ/을 거예요 시제 현재형
References Naver Korean Dictionary ↗ 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 ↗
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More A2 lessons

-같은 -gateun Like / Such as / Similar to 이해가 안 돼요 ihaega an dwaeyo I don't understand -(으)ㄹ 때 -(eu)l ttae When / At the time of
← -아/어서 건강하세요 →

FAQ

When is this used?

-았/었어요 is always polite. The casual past drops -요: 먹었어. This ending can also express a current state from a past action: 왔어요 = I came / I'm here now.

What's a common mistake?

Vowel harmony trips up beginners: stems with ㅏ or ㅗ use -았어요 (봤어요, 갔어요); all others use -었어요 (먹었어요, 왔어요). Always check the last vowel of the stem.

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