Past Tense Adjectives

Past tense adjectives in Korean describe states, qualities, or characteristics that existed in the past. They follow similar conjugation patterns to action verbs but describe how things were rather than actions that happened.

Past Tense Forms

Korean adjectives have multiple past tense forms depending on formality level.

Informal Polite (-았/었어요)

Most common in everyday conversation.

Formal Polite (-았/었습니다)

Used in formal situations, business, presentations.

Informal (-았/었어)

Used with close friends and younger people.

Informal Polite: -았/었어요

Rule: Vowel Harmony

After ㅏ or ㅗ vowels → -았어요:

Stem has bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ)

After other vowels → -었어요:

Stem has dark vowels (ㅓ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, etc.)

Formation Pattern

[Stem] + -았어요 / -었어요

Remove -다 and add the appropriate past ending.

Examples with -았어요

좋다 (to be good):

• 좋 + 았어요 → 좋았어요 (was good)

작다 (to be small):

• 작 + 았어요 → 작았어요 (was small)

많다 (to be many):

• 많 + 았어요 → 많았어요 (were many)

높다 (to be high):

• 높 + 았어요 → 높았어요 (was high)

Examples with -었어요

크다 (to be big):

• 크 + 었어요 → 컸어요 (was big)
• 으 drops before 었

없다 (to not exist):

• 없 + 었어요 → 없었어요 (didn't exist)

적다 (to be few):

• 적 + 었어요 → 적었어요 (were few)

Contraction with 하다 Adjectives

-하 + 었어요 → -했어요

• 행복하다 → 행복했어요 (was happy)
• 깨끗하다 → 깨끗했어요 (was clean)
• 편하다 → 편했어요 (was comfortable)
• 친절하다 → 친절했어요 (was kind)
• 조용하다 → 조용했어요 (was quiet)
• 안전하다 → 안전했어요 (was safe)

Formal Polite: -았/었습니다

After ㅏ/ㅗ: -았습니다

좋다 → 좋았습니다 (was good) 작다 → 작았습니다 (was small) 많다 → 많았습니다 (were many)

After other vowels: -었습니다

크다 → 컸습니다 (was big) 없다 → 없었습니다 (didn't exist) 예쁘다 → 예뻤습니다 (was pretty)

With 하다: -했습니다

행복하다 → 행복했습니다 (was happy) 깨끗하다 → 깨끗했습니다 (was clean)

Informal: -았/었어

Drop the 요 from -았/었어요:

좋다 → 좋았어 (was good) 크다 → 컸어 (was big) 예쁘다 → 예뻤어 (was pretty) 행복하다 → 행복했어 (was happy)

Common Adjectives - Past Forms

크다 (to be big)

• Informal polite: 컸어요
• Formal polite: 컸습니다
• Informal: 컸어

작다 (to be small)

• Informal polite: 작았어요
• Formal polite: 작았습니다
• Informal: 작았어

좋다 (to be good)

• Informal polite: 좋았어요
• Formal polite: 좋았습니다
• Informal: 좋았어

나쁘다 (to be bad)

• Informal polite: 나빴어요
• Formal polite: 나빴습니다
• Informal: 나빴어

예쁘다 (to be pretty)

• Informal polite: 예뻤어요
• Formal polite: 예뻤습니다
• Informal: 예뻤어

맛있다 (to be delicious)

• Informal polite: 맛있었어요
• Formal polite: 맛있었습니다
• Informal: 맛있었어

춥다 (to be cold)

• Informal polite: 추웠어요
• Formal polite: 추웠습니다
• Informal: 추웠어

덥다 (to be hot)

• Informal polite: 더웠어요
• Formal polite: 더웠습니다
• Informal: 더웠어

행복하다 (to be happy)

• Informal polite: 행복했어요
• Formal polite: 행복했습니다
• Informal: 행복했어

슬프다 (to be sad)

• Informal polite: 슬펐어요
• Formal polite: 슬펐습니다
• Informal: 슬펐어

In Simple Sentences

Pattern: [Subject]이/가 + [Past Adjective]

Informal polite:

• 집이 컸어요. (The house was big.)
• 날씨가 좋았어요. (The weather was good.)
• 음식이 맛있었어요. (The food was delicious.)
• 꽃이 예뻤어요. (The flower was pretty.)

Formal polite:

• 집이 컸습니다. (The house was big.)
• 날씨가 좋았습니다. (The weather was good.)
• 음식이 맛있었습니다. (The food was delicious.)

Questions in Past Tense

With Rising Intonation

Informal polite:

• 컸어요? (Was it big?)
• 좋았어요? (Was it good?)
• 맛있었어요? (Was it delicious?)
• 예뻤어요? (Was it pretty?)

Formal polite:

• 컸습니까? (Was it big?)
• 좋았습니까? (Was it good?)
• 맛있었습니까? (Was it delicious?)

Question-Answer Examples

Q: 어제 날씨가 좋았어요? (Was the weather good yesterday?)

A: 네, 아주 좋았어요. (Yes, it was very good.)

Q: 음식이 맛있었어요? (Was the food delicious?)

A: 네, 정말 맛있었어요. (Yes, it was really delicious.)

Negative Past Forms

Using 안 (not)

Place 안 before the past adjective:

Pattern: 안 + [Past Adjective]

• 안 컸어요. (was not big)
• 안 좋았어요. (was not good)
• 안 예뻤어요. (was not pretty)
• 안 맛있었어요. (was not delicious)

Using -지 않았다

More formal/emphatic negative:

Pattern: [Stem]지 않았어요 / 않았습니다

• 크지 않았어요. (was not big)
• 좋지 않았어요. (was not good)
• 예쁘지 않았어요. (was not pretty)
• 맛있지 않았습니다. (was not delicious)

Irregular Adjectives in Past

ㅂ Irregular

ㅂ → 우 + past ending:

• 춥다 → 추웠어요 (was cold)
• 덥다 → 더웠어요 (was hot)
• 아름답다 → 아름다웠어요 (was beautiful)
• 무섭다 → 무서웠어요 (was scary)
• 쉽다 → 쉬웠어요 (was easy)
• 어렵다 → 어려웠어요 (was difficult)

ㅎ Irregular

ㅎ drops + vowel changes:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갰어요 (was red)
• 노랗다 → 노랬어요 (was yellow)
• 하얗다 → 하얬어요 (was white)
• 그렇다 → 그랬어요 (was so)
• 어떻다 → 어땠어요 (was how)

으 Irregular

으 drops + past ending:

• 크다 → 컸어요 (was big)
• 예쁘다 → 예뻤어요 (was pretty)
• 바쁘다 → 바빴어요 (was busy)
• 쓰다 → 썼어요 (was bitter)
• 아프다 → 아팠어요 (hurt)

ㅅ Irregular

ㅅ drops + past ending:

• 낫다 → 나았어요 (was better / recovered)
• 짓다 → 지었어요 (built)

ㄷ Irregular

ㄷ → ㄹ + past ending:

• 듣다 → 들었어요 (heard/listened)
• 걷다 → 걸었어요 (walked)

Describing Past States

Past Weather

• 어제 날씨가 좋았어요. (Yesterday's weather was good.)
• 지난주에 추웠어요. (It was cold last week.)
• 작년 여름이 더웠어요. (Last year's summer was hot.)

Past Experiences

• 영화가 재미있었어요. (The movie was fun.)
• 음식이 맛있었어요. (The food was delicious.)
• 여행이 즐거웠어요. (The trip was enjoyable.)

Past Emotions

• 어제 행복했어요. (I was happy yesterday.)
• 그때 슬펐어요. (I was sad then.)
• 정말 기뻤어요. (I was really joyful.)

Past Conditions

• 옛날에 가난했어요. (I was poor in the past.)
• 예전에 건강했어요. (I was healthy before.)
• 작년에 바빴어요. (I was busy last year.)

Time Expressions with Past Adjectives

Yesterday

• 어제 날씨가 좋았어요. (The weather was good yesterday.)
• 어제는 추웠어요. (Yesterday it was cold.)

Last Week/Month/Year

• 지난주에 바빴어요. (I was busy last week.)
• 지난달에 행복했어요. (I was happy last month.)
• 작년에 어려웠어요. (It was difficult last year.)

Before/Then

• 예전에 작았어요. (It was small before.)
• 그때 좋았어요. (It was good then.)
• 옛날에 예뻤어요. (It was pretty in the old days.)

Specific Times

• 아침에 추웠어요. (It was cold in the morning.)
• 저녁에 시원했어요. (It was cool in the evening.)

Connecting Past Adjectives

Using -고 (and)

[Past Adj1]고 [Past Adj2]

• 크고 예뻤어요. (was big and pretty)
• 싸고 좋았어요. (was cheap and good)
• 맛있고 건강했어요. (was delicious and healthy)

Using -지만 (but)

[Past Adj1]지만 [Past Adj2]

• 작았지만 예뻤어요. (was small but pretty)
• 비쌌지만 좋았어요. (was expensive but good)
• 어려웠지만 재미있었어요. (was difficult but fun)

Using -아/어서 (so/because)

[Past Adj] + 아/어서

• 좋았어서 행복했어요. (It was good, so I was happy.)
• 추워서 힘들었어요. (It was cold, so it was hard.)
• 비싸서 안 샀어요. (It was expensive, so I didn't buy it.)

Past Descriptive Modifiers

When describing nouns with past adjectives, use -았/었던:

Pattern: [Stem] + 았/었던 + [Noun]

• 좋았던 날 (day that was good)
• 컸던 집 (house that was big)
• 예뻤던 꽃 (flower that was pretty)
• 맛있었던 음식 (food that was delicious)
• 행복했던 시간 (time that was happy)

In sentences:

• 좋았던 날을 기억해요. (I remember the day that was good.)
• 예뻤던 꽃이 시들었어요. (The flower that was pretty withered.)

Comparing Past and Present

Pattern: Past vs Present

• 예전에는 작았어요. 지금은 커요. (Before it was small. Now it's big.)

• 어제는 추웠어요. 오늘은 따뜻해요. (Yesterday it was cold. Today it's warm.)

• 그때는 행복했어요. 지금은 슬퍼요. (Then I was happy. Now I'm sad.)

Emphasizing Past States

정말/진짜 (really)

• 정말 좋았어요! (It was really good!)
• 진짜 예뻤어요! (It was really pretty!)

너무 (so/too)

• 너무 컸어요. (It was so big.)
• 너무 맛있었어요. (It was so delicious.)

아주 (very)

• 아주 행복했어요. (I was very happy.)
• 아주 재미있었어요. (It was very fun.)

Common Sentence Patterns

Simple Past Description

[Subject] + [Past Adjective]

• 영화가 재미있었어요. (The movie was fun.)
• 시험이 어려웠어요. (The exam was difficult.)
• 여행이 즐거웠어요. (The trip was enjoyable.)

Past State with Reason

[Past Adj]아/어서 [Result]

• 날씨가 좋았어서 산책했어요. (The weather was good, so I took a walk.)

• 음식이 맛있었어서 많이 먹었어요. (The food was delicious, so I ate a lot.)

Contrast Past and Present

[Past]지만 [Present]

• 어제는 추웠지만 오늘은 따뜻해요. (Yesterday was cold, but today is warm.)

Key Points

✅ -았/었어요 for past tense (informal polite) ✅ -았/었습니다 for past tense (formal polite) ✅ Vowel harmony determines -았 or -었 ✅ 하다 adjectives use -했어요 ✅ Irregular adjectives follow same patterns as present ✅ -았/었던 for past descriptive modifiers ✅ Use time expressions to clarify past context ✅ Questions use rising intonation

Understanding past tense adjectives is essential for describing past states, experiences, and conditions in Korean.