✅Beginner 10: Past Tense in Korean – How to Say What You Did

πŸ“˜ Beginner 10: Past Tense in Korean – How to Say What You Did

Welcome to Day 10! ⏳ Today, we take a big step forward by learning how to express past actions in Korean.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to say what you did yesterday, talk about last week, and share your experiences with friends — all in Korean!

πŸ“Œ Korean Past Tense: Verb + -μ•˜μ–΄μš” / -μ—ˆμ–΄μš” / -ν–ˆμ–΄μš”

Korean past tense is formed by attaching one of the following endings to the verb stem:

  • -μ•˜μ–΄μš” (a-sseo-yo): when last vowel is ㅏ or γ…—
  • -μ—ˆμ–΄μš” (eo-sseo-yo): for all other vowels
  • -ν–ˆμ–΄μš” (hae-sseo-yo): for ν•˜λ‹€ verbs

Examples:

  • κ°€λ‹€ → κ°”μ–΄μš” (gat-sseo-yo) – went
  • λ¨Ήλ‹€ → λ¨Ήμ—ˆμ–΄μš” (meok-eot-sseo-yo) – ate
  • ν•˜λ‹€ → ν–ˆμ–΄μš” (hae-sseo-yo) – did

πŸ“˜ Most Useful Past Tense Verbs

Present Tense Past Tense Romanization Meaning
κ°€μš”κ°”μ–΄μš”gat-sseo-yowent
λ¨Ήμ–΄μš”λ¨Ήμ—ˆμ–΄μš”meok-eot-sseo-yoate
μžμš”μž€μ–΄μš”jat-sseo-yoslept
λ΄€μ–΄μš”λ΄€μ–΄μš”bwa-sseo-yosaw/watched
ν–ˆμ–΄μš”ν–ˆμ–΄μš”hae-sseo-yodid
κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μš”κ³΅λΆ€ν–ˆμ–΄μš”gong-bu-hae-sseo-yostudied
μƒ€μ–΄μš”μƒ€μ–΄μš”sat-sseo-yobought
λ§ˆμ…”μš”λ§ˆμ…¨μ–΄μš”ma-syeot-sseo-yodrank

πŸ“˜ Time Expressions for the Past

  • μ–΄μ œ (eo-je) – yesterday
  • μ§€λ‚œμ£Ό (ji-nan-ju) – last week
  • μ§€λ‚œλ‹¬ (ji-nan-dal) – last month
  • μž‘λ…„ (jang-nyeon) – last year

Example sentences:

  • μ–΄μ œ μ˜ν™” λ΄€μ–΄μš”. – I watched a movie yesterday.
  • μ§€λ‚œμ£Όμ— 친ꡬλ₯Ό λ§Œλ‚¬μ–΄μš”. – I met a friend last week.

πŸ“˜ Build Your Own Past Sentences

Here’s how to say what you did in Korean:

  • μ €λŠ” λ°₯을 λ¨Ήμ—ˆμ–΄μš”. – I ate a meal.
  • μ €λŠ” μ§‘μ—μ„œ μ‰¬μ—ˆμ–΄μš”. – I rested at home.
  • μ €λŠ” ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό κ³΅λΆ€ν–ˆμ–΄μš”. – I studied Korean.

πŸ’¬ Real-Life Dialogue

πŸ‘§ μˆ˜μ§€: μ–΄μ œ 뭐 ν–ˆμ–΄μš”? – What did you do yesterday?
πŸ§‘ 민수: μΉœκ΅¬λž‘ 컀피 λ§ˆμ…¨μ–΄μš”. – I drank coffee with a friend.


πŸ§ͺ Mini Quiz – Let’s Test Your Tense!

  1. How do you say “I slept yesterday”?
    a) μ–΄μ œ μžμš”
    b) μ–΄μ œ μž€μ–΄μš”
    c) μ–΄μ œ 자고 μžˆμ–΄μš”
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ b) μ–΄μ œ μž€μ–΄μš”

  2. What is the past tense of “ν•˜λ‹€”?
    a) ν•˜μ…¨μ–΄μš”
    b) ν•΄μš”
    c) ν–ˆμ–΄μš”
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ c) ν–ˆμ–΄μš”

  3. Translate: “I studied Korean.”
    a) ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό κ³΅λΆ€ν–ˆμ–΄μš”
    b) ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό κ³΅λΆ€ν•΄μš”
    c) ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό κ°€λ₯΄μ³€μ–΄μš”
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ a) ν•œκ΅­μ–΄λ₯Ό κ³΅λΆ€ν–ˆμ–΄μš”


✅ Conclusion

πŸ‘ You did it! You’ve learned how to express past actions in Korean.

  • ✔️ Use -μ•˜μ–΄μš” / -μ—ˆμ–΄μš” / -ν–ˆμ–΄μš” for past tense
  • ✔️ Practice by writing what you did yesterday
  • ✔️ Learn key past verbs and repeat them aloud


πŸ“˜ Coming Up Next

Tomorrow: Day 11: Future Tense in Korean – I Will Study, I Will Go
Let’s look ahead and learn how to say what you will do!

Related Keywords:
learn korean, korean past tense, korean grammar, korean verbs, how to say did in korean, beginner korean grammar