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To conjugate a verb into the polite past tense:
- Start with the verb stem.
- Add one of these endings based on the last vowel in the stem:
- 았어요 (a-sseo-yo): If the last vowel is ㅏ (a) or ㅗ (o).
- 었어요 (eo-sseo-yo): If the last vowel is anything other than ㅏ or ㅗ.
- 였어요 (yeo-sseo-yo): Only used for verbs with the stem 하 (ha), like 하다 (to do).
Examples:
가다 (to go) → 가 + 았어요 = 갔어요 (ga-sseo-yo)
The last vowel is ㅏ, so we add 았어요.
갔어요 (ga-sseo-yo) = I went. You went. He/She went. They went.
먹다 (to eat) → 먹 + 었어요 = 먹었어요 (meo-geo-sseo-yo)
The last vowel is not ㅏ or ㅗ, so we add 었어요.
먹었어요 (meo-geo-sseo-yo) = I ate. You ate. He/She ate. They ate.
하다 (to do) → 하 + 였어요 = 하였어요 → 했어요 (hae-sseo-yo)
The stem ends with 하, so we add 였어요 which changes to 했어요 for easier pronunciation.
했어요 (hae-sseo-yo) = I did. You did. He/She did. They did.
