The endings 았어요, 었어요, and 했어요 are used to express **past tense actions** in a **polite informal** way.
You will use these endings when talking about things you **did**, things that **happened**, or things that were **true in the past**.
This is the most common way to speak in the past tense in **everyday Korean conversations**.
These endings are built on top of the **present tense informal endings** 아요 / 어요 / 해요, so if you learned those first, this is the next natural step!
Here is how to use these endings:
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 갔어요. | I went. |
| 왔어요. | I came. |
| 먹었어요. | I ate. |
| 마셨어요. | I drank. |
| 읽었어요. | I read (past). |
| 공부했어요. | I studied. |
| 일했어요. | I worked. |
| 잤어요. | I slept. |
| 봤어요. | I watched / I saw. |
| 말했어요. | I spoke / I talked. |
Use 았어요 with verb stems ending in ㅏ or ㅗ.
Use 었어요 with other verb stems.
Use 했어요 with 하다 verbs.
This is the **core past tense** you will use in everyday Korean.
Now you know how to use **았어요 / 었어요 / 했어요** to express past tense actions in polite informal speech!
This is one of the most important verb patterns in Korean. You will use it all the time to tell stories, explain what you did, and talk about your experiences.
Practice making your own sentences — the more you use it, the more natural it will feel!
Happy studying! 화이팅! ✨
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