[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"pubgrp:kg-past:ko:en":3},{"type":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"level":7,"goal":8,"image_path":9,"is_locked":10,"is_daily_free":10,"formula":11,"gloss":14,"desc":15,"desc_audio":9,"voices":16,"examples":17,"fills":54,"choices":55},"grammar","kg-past","Past tense (~past)","elementary","Simple past tense: 았어요\u002F었어요",null,false,[12,13],"Verb stem + -았어요\u002F-었어요","Action that happened and finished in the past","Simple past tense: -았어요\u002F-었어요","The **past tense in Korean is fundamentally different from English** because it's not just about *when* something happened—it's about **aspectual completion**. In English, you say \"I ate\" or \"I have eaten,\" but you're still thinking about the same action. In Korean, `먹었다` literally marks that an action has **moved into the past and is complete**. This is called the **perfective aspect**.\n\nThe two suffixes, `았` and `었`, exist because of **vowel harmony**—a core feature of Korean where sounds must fit together naturally. If the verb stem's last vowel is **ㅏ** or **ㅗ** (bright vowels), you use `았`. If it ends in any other vowel, you use `었`. This isn't a rule to memorize as much as it's Korean's **natural pronunciation rhythm**. English speakers often want to memorize which verbs take which ending, but Korean speakers don't think that way—they simply *feel* which one sounds right, just like you naturally know \"I go\" sounds better than \"I goes.\"\n\nWhat makes this tricky for English speakers: **Korean doesn't have separate words like \"have\" to mark the past**. You don't say \"I have eaten rice\" (밥을 먹은 것이 있어요). Instead, you just say `밥을 먹었어요`—the suffix itself carries the entire meaning of \"completed action in the past.\" Once you say `먹었어요`, the listener automatically understands it's done, finished, and in the past. This is **more concise and direct** than English's helper-verb system.",[],[18,24,30,36,42,48],{"en":19,"ko":20,"ko_audio":21,"audio":22,"audios":23},"저는 어제 밥을 먹었어요.","I ate rice yesterday.","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Ftrans_audio\u002F9e60d4e1-4e27-45c8-9a5d-a459107ada0b.mp3","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Fblock_audio\u002F25075e4d-41c7-4a90-9b21-d9f78b46fa41.mp3",{},{"en":25,"ko":26,"ko_audio":27,"audio":28,"audios":29},"그녀는 학교에 갔어요.","She went to school.","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Ftrans_audio\u002F57a0a0c3-2bb2-4027-a998-824124f72db0.mp3","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Fblock_audio\u002F75b8dd6e-2163-4661-b84d-372256e6452f.mp3",{},{"en":31,"ko":32,"ko_audio":33,"audio":34,"audios":35},"우리는 영화를 봤어요.","We watched a movie.","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Ftrans_audio\u002Fef7ace9d-07a0-4f2e-8ec4-d3ef944b7fae.mp3","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Fblock_audio\u002F96d5e976-1236-4120-891c-f95694032553.mp3",{},{"en":37,"ko":38,"ko_audio":39,"audio":40,"audios":41},"친구가 전화했어요.","My friend called.","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Ftrans_audio\u002Fb6c015a9-ccaf-4750-b5b8-6e8d8f08f71d.mp3","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Fblock_audio\u002Fb710b131-a351-4f90-96ca-73df1ea5a5cf.mp3",{},{"en":43,"ko":44,"ko_audio":45,"audio":46,"audios":47},"엄마는 저녁을 만들었어요.","Mom made dinner.","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Ftrans_audio\u002F2efc8e45-cf9d-47ba-9a4b-9ec4fb47a36e.mp3","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Fblock_audio\u002F8ba5aea3-d951-48b4-834c-93e2892a6e93.mp3",{},{"en":49,"ko":50,"ko_audio":51,"audio":52,"audios":53},"나는 숙제를 했어요.","I did my homework.","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Ftrans_audio\u002F098a3154-2f10-447c-aeb0-9a28d9bde771.mp3","https:\u002F\u002Fpub-96bedcbbfd0f4e5d82c4505745cced9c.r2.dev\u002Fblock_audio\u002F8de1c4d7-b62d-481a-bae3-3893e8eb298b.mp3",{},[],[56,68,79],{"ko":57,"options":58},"When do you use `-았어요` instead of `-었어요`?",[59,62,64,66],{"t":60,"ok":61},"When the verb stem's last vowel is bright (ㅏ, ㅗ)",true,{"t":63,"ok":10},"When talking about negative past actions",{"t":65,"ok":10},"When the subject is plural",{"t":67,"ok":10},"When the sentence contains an object",{"ko":69,"options":70},"What is the main difference between how English and Korean mark past tense?",[71,73,75,77],{"t":72,"ok":61},"English changes the entire word; Korean keeps the stem and adds an ending",{"t":74,"ok":10},"English uses word order; Korean doesn't",{"t":76,"ok":10},"English only marks past with 'did'; Korean uses two methods",{"t":78,"ok":10},"There is no real difference",{"ko":80,"options":81},"Which sentence uses the correct past tense ending?",[82,84,86,88],{"t":83,"ok":10},"그는 물을 마신었어요.",{"t":85,"ok":61},"그는 물을 마셨어요.",{"t":87,"ok":10},"그는 물을 마래요.",{"t":89,"ok":10},"그는 물을 마을어요."]