List Of Korean Verbs In The Informal Polite Past Tense

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동사 (dong-sa) is the Korean word for verb. To form the informal polite past tense of a Korean verb, you can attach the endings -았어요, -었어요, or -였어요 to the verb.

Rules for Informal Polite Past Tense Conjugation

-았어요: Used when the verb stem ends in ㅗ or ㅏ
-었어요: Used when the verb stem doesn’t end in ㅗ or ㅏ
-였어요: Used when the verb ends in 하다; the contracted form 했어요 is used in everyday speech.

Structure for Korean Verb Conjugation in the Informal Polite Past Tense

The structure for conjugating a Korean verb into the informal polite past tense is as follows:

Verb Stem + Informal Polite Past Tense Ending

Steps for Conjugating a Korean Verb into the Informal Polite Past Tense

Identify the verb stem: Remove the 다 (da) ending from the verb’s dictionary form.
Determine the last vowel of the stem: Check the last vowel in the stem.
Attach the suitable informal polite past tense ending: Add the correct ending based on the last vowel identified.

Korean Vowel Contraction Pronunciation Rules

In everyday speech, full forms of conjugated verbs may be shortened through contraction—a process where two vowels are combined for smoother pronunciation.

If the stem ends in ㅗ with no final consonant, add ~았어요. In everyday speech, this becomes ~왔어요.

If the stem ends in ㅏ with no final consonant, add ~았어요. In everyday speech, this becomes ~았어요.

If the stem ends in ㅜ with no final consonant, add ~었어요. In everyday speech, this becomes ~웠어요.

If the stem ends in ㅣ with no final consonant, add ~었어요. In everyday speech, this becomes ~였어요.

For verbs ending in 하다, add 였어요. In everyday speech, this becomes 했어요.

Examples:

Meaning	Verb	Stem	Ending	Before Contraction	After Contraction
to go	가다	가	~았어요	가았어요	갔어요
to see	보다	보	~았어요	보았어요	봤어요
to give	주다	주	~었어요	주었어요	줬어요
to teach	가르치다	가르치	~었어요	가르치었어요	가르쳤어요

Here’s the complete breakdown for 가다 (to go), including the form before and after contraction:

Verb: 가다
Stem: 가
Add the ending: ~았어요
Before contraction: 가았어요
After contraction: 갔어요

가다 → 가 + ~았어요 → 가았어요 (before contraction) → 갔어요 (after contraction).

List of Korean Verbs in Informal Polite Past Tense

Below is a list of Korean verbs conjugated into the informal polite past tense.

Meaning	Verb	Stem	Polite Past Tense Ending	Conjugated Verb	Contraction	Revised Romanization
To go	가다	가	~았어요	가았어요	갔어요	ga-sseo-yo
To come	오다	오	~았어요	오았어요	왔어요	wa-sseo-yo
To eat	먹다	먹	~었어요	먹었어요	먹었어요	meo-geo-sseo-yo
To sleep	자다	자	~았어요	자았어요	잤어요	ja-sseo-yo
To do	하다	하	~였어요	하였어요	했어요	hae-sseo-yo
To drink	마시다	마시	~었어요	마시었어요	마셨어요	ma-syeo-sseo-yo
To buy	사다	사	~았어요	사았어요	샀어요	sa-sseo-yo
To grab/hold	잡다	잡	~았어요	잡았어요	–	jap-a-sseo-yo
To study	공부하다	공부하	~였어요	공부하였어요	공부했어요	gong-bu-hae-sseo-yo
To write	쓰다	쓰	~었어요	쓰었어요	썼어요	sseo-sseo-yo