In this lesson, you will learn how to say past tense adjectives (was/were adj.) in Korean. They will be similar to past tense verb rules, so if you want to review them, please check the link below. You can also check out the free worksheet and present tense adjective rules using the links below!
<Table of Contents>
1. What Is Informal Past Tense?
Just like verbs 가다 (go) - 갔어요 (went), we can conjugate Korean adjectives into past tense. 작다 (be small) - 작았어요 (was/were small). Especially, you will see the informal past tense here. Informal means you can use it in conversation. It is polite and somewhat friendly, so good to use in daily life. You can use this ending for people who are older than you or who hold higher social status than you like teachers, bosses, or parents. You can even use this to people you do not know well since it is a polite version. Of course, you can use it for college or friends too if you want to be polite to them! Let's learn how we can conjugate Korean adjectives into the past tense forms!
2. Past Tense Regular Conjugation Rules
Remember their present tense? We added 아요/어요/여요 (shortened to 아/어/여요) for the present tense and we will use 았어요/었어요/였어요 (shorten to 았/었/였어요) to their past tense. If you compare their looks, you can tell ㅆ is added at the final consonant position. All informal past tense will have this final consonant ㅆ. Make sure not to write ㅅ!
1) ㅏ, ㅗ , ㅑ adjectives + 았어요
Check the stem, the part without 다. Confirm the last syllable of the stem. If the vowel of the syllable is ㅏ, ㅗ, or ㅑ, you will need to add 았어요 [ah-sseo-yo]. Here, I will show you the steps to conjugate!
작다 [jak-dda] to be small → All adjectives and verbs always end with 다. That form is what we call the basic form. But since all of them have it, 다 is not important at all. Let's erase it. → So, the stem of this word is 작. → If you look at the last (and only) syllable, it has the vowel ㅏ so we have to add 았어요 to make the past tense. → 작았어요. [ja-ga-sseo-yo] (was/were) small
많다 [man-ta] to be a lot /many/much → I will skip mentioning 다 and just show you the stem from now on. → 많 → Check the vowel. It's "ㅏ". We need 았어요 to make it a polite present ending. → 많았어요. [ma-nah-sseo-yo] (was/were) a lot
얇다 [yal-dda] to be thin → 얇 → The vowel is 야. We need 았어요. → 얇았어요 [yal-ba-sseo-yo] (was/were) thin
From now on, I will skip the meaning of the conjugated parts.
2) 하다 adjectives: +였어요 → 했어요
Even though 하다 [ha-da] means "do" in Korean, it can be also seen in adjectives, too. In this case, they no longer have the meaning of "do."
날씬하다 [nal-ssin-ha-da] to be slim/skinny → The stem is 날씬하. → Since in the basic form, it had 하다 at the end, we need to add 였어요. → 날씬하였어요. However, in modern Korean, 하였어요 became 했어요. → 날씬했어요. [nal-ssin-hae-sseo-yo]
So, changing 하다 adjectives is very easy! You can simply replace 하다 with 했어요 [hae-sseo-yo]. Here is one more example for you.
뚱뚱하다 [ddoong-ddoong-ha-da] to be fat → 뚱뚱했어요. [ddoong-ddoong-hae-sseo-yo]
3) Others: +었어요
The adjectives that do not follow rules 1 or 2 will follow the rule number 3. So, for adjectives that don't have ㅏ or ㅗ as the last vowels or end with 하다, you will add 었어요 [eo-sseo-yo] to make it into the past tense.
적다 [juk-dda] to be few/little → 적 → The vowel is "ㅓ." It is not ㅏ or 오. It is not 하다 adjective so let's add 었어요. → 적었어요. [jeo-geo-sseo-yo]
느리다 [neu-li-da] to be slow → The stem is 느리. → 느리+었어요 → 리 and 었 combine and become 렸. → 느렸어요. [neu-lyeo-sseo-yo]
4) Summary
Here is the quick summary chart. Review how the adjectives change to their 았/었/였어요 forms depending on their last vowels. If you click the meaning of a word, it will show you the informal past tense form. Think about the answer before you click.
3. Past Tense Irregular Conjugation Rules
You are going to see some irregular past-tense rules. The reason why they are irregular is not only they don't follow regular rules but also not all words follow the irregular words! The final consonants are the key and you will see special ㅅ, ㅂ, ㅎ here. But even though they have ㅎ or ㅂ at the final consonant position, some words do not follow these "irregular" rules but are conjugated with regular rules. I will show you those exceptions as well!
1) ㅅ adjectives: Erase ㅅ + 았어요
The only ㅅ adjective in Korean is 낫다 [na-dda].
낫다 [na-dda] to be better → 낫 → The final consonant is ㅅ. Just like a verb, we erase ㅅ. → 나 → It has ㅏ as a vowel so we need 았어요 not 었어요 or 였어요! → 나았어요. [na-ah-sseo-yo]
2) ㅎ adjectives: Erase ㅎ + ㅣ + ㅆ어요
When you see ㅎ at the final consonant position in verbs, you don't have to worry. You can ignore that ㅎ and just conjugate the verb with a regular rule. But not with adjectives! When you see ㅎ, you have to use the irregular rule. (BUT then again, not all ㅎ adjectives follow this irregular rule. Hence the name is irregular!)
You erase ㅎ and then add the vowel ㅣ first and then add ㅆ어요. So, in the end, it looks like you attached 앴어요 or 엤어요 or 얬어요 or 옜어요.
파랗다 [pa-la-ta] to be blue→ 파랗 → Erase ㅎ first. → 파라 → Add ㅣ to 라 which makes 파래 → Now add ㅆ어요. The ㅆ goes to the final consonant position! → 파랬어요. [pa-lae-sseo-yo]
노랗다 [no-la-ta] to be yellow → 노랗 → Erase ㅎ. → 노라 → Add ㅣ and make 노래. Then add ㅆ어요. → 노랬어요. [no-lae-sseo-yo]
뿌옇다 [bbu-yeo-ta] to be foggy → 뿌옇 → ㅎ will be erased. → 뿌여 → Now add ㅣ and make 뿌예. → Then add ㅆ어요. → 뿌옜어요. [bbu-ye-sseo-yo]
☆ 좋다 [jo-ta] follows the regular rule, even though it is an adjective. This is only one ㅎ adjective that follows the regular rule.
좋다 [jo-ta] to be good → 좋 → It is the only adjective with ㅎ that follows the regular rule. So you can add 았어요 without erasing ㅎ. → 좋았어요. [jo-ah-sseo-yo]
3) ㅂ adjectives: Erase ㅂ add 왔어요/웠어요
There are many adjectives with ㅂ. Just like irregular ㅂ verbs, ㅂ adjectives have their own special forms. First, you have to erase ㅂ. Then, you have to check its last vowel. If it is ㅏ or ㅗ, you have to add 왔어요 (not 았어요). If it is not ㅏ or ㅗ, please add 웠어요 (not 었어요).
덥다 [deop-dda] to be hot → 덥 → We have to erase the final consonant ㅂ first! → 더 →The vowel is ㅓ. So, we will add 웠어요. (not 었어요). → 더웠어요 [deo-wo-sseo-yo]
춥다 [chup-dda] to be cold → 춥 → Erase ㅂ. → 추 →The vowel is ㅜ. It's not ㅏ or ㅗ, so we use the conjugation rule number 3, but with the special form 웠어요! → 추웠어요. [chu-wo-sseo-yo]
곱다 [gop-dda] to be pretty → 곱 → We don't need ㅂ! → 고 →The vowel is ㅗ. If the vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ we need to add 왔어요. → 고왔어요. [go-wa-sseo-yo]
☆ Even though many of the ㅂ follow the 왔어요/웠어요 rules, 좁다 [jop-dda] will use the regular conjugation rule. It is good to remember these special words separately.
좁다 [jop-dda] to be narrow → 좁 → It follows the regular rule. That means we don't have to erase ㅂ and since the vowel is ㅗ, you will add 았어요. → 좁았어요. [jo-ba-sseo-yo]
4) Others
Those are other irregular rules than ㅅ, ㅂ, and ㅎ. For now, you can try to memorize them as they are since these rules are a bit more complicated! However, if you want to know the detailed rules, please read my other post! Post: Irregular conjugation ㅡ and 르
크다 [keu-da] to be big → 컸어요. [keo-sseo-yo]
빠르다 [bba-reu-da] to be quick/fast → 빨랐어요. [bbal-la-sseo-yo]
예쁘다 [yae-bbeu-da] to be pretty → 예뻤어요. [yae-bbeo-sseo-yo]
곱다 is also pretty, but it is more old-fashioned way. Usually, people use 예쁘다 [yae-bbeu-da]
5) Summary
Here is the quick summary chart. Review how the irregular adjectives become the informal past tense. If you click the meaning of a word, it will show you the answer. Think about it before you click!
4. Examples
1
사람이 많았어요. [sa-la-mi ma-na-sseo-yo] There were a lot of people.
↪ 사람 [sa-lam] means person/people. 많다 [man-ta] means a lot/many/much and it follows the regular rule number 1. You can use these adjectives with the subject marker 이/가!
2
이 책이 나았어요. [ee chae-gi na-ah-sseo-yo] This book was better.
↪ 책 [chaek] is a book. 이 [ee] in this case is the pointing word. 이 책 means this book. Once again the subject marker 이/가 is used with an adjective to describe the subject.
3
가: 어제 더웠어요? [eo-jae deo-wo-sseo-yo?] Was it hot yesterday?
나: 아니요, 추웠어요. [ah-ni-yo, chu-wo-sseo-yo] No, it was cold.
↪ 춥다 [chup-dda] and 덥다 [deop-dda] are used to talk about temperature hot and cold. Both sentences had a hidden word 날씨 [nal-ssi] which means weather.
4
젠 씨는 빨랐어요. 진수 씨는 느렸어요. [jen ssi-neun bbal-la--seo-yo. jin-su ssi-neun neu-lyeo-sseo-yo] Jen was fast. Jinsu was slow.
↪ We can also use the topic marker 은/는 to describe as well. Especially when you compare people or things, it is natural to use the topic marker instead of the subject marker. It is a bit advanced grammar but if you want to learn more about this, please check the link below.
5. Quiz
Here are some quizzes for you. Check your understanding with them!
6. Wrap-up: Korean adjectives in the past tense
Korean adjectives can come at the end of a sentence to say "be 00."
Adjectives have the basic forms that end with "다". You must conjugate them.
Conjugation rules are similar to verb rules. Depending on their last vowels, you had to add 았어요 or 었어요 or 였어요. For irregular final consonants like ㅅ, ㅎ, ㅂ, you have to take care of the final consonant first.
Once you understand the rules, try to remember a basic form and its conjugated form as a set.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment or contact us using the contact form!
![[Reading Material] Korean Currency Won: Korean Coins and Bills](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b68df0_bec7c0b8f2b64d5e9e13d6cd0948d54e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_54,h_54,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/b68df0_bec7c0b8f2b64d5e9e13d6cd0948d54e~mv2.jpg)
