Beginner 1 > Lesson 7
Lesson 7. Past & Future Tense Conjugation
PAST TENSE CONJUGATION (for verbs and adjectives):
- When Stem word has ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’ vowels, replace ‘-다’ with ‘-았어(요)’.
Ex. 알다 (to know) = 알았어.
Ex. 작다 (to be small) = 작았어.
Ex. 오다 (to come) = *왔어. *(오+았 → 왔)
Ex. 보다 (to see; watch) = *봤어. *(보+았 → 봤)
*Stem word has “ㅏ” in it, and do not have 받침. (These are not mentioned in the video above, but are essential verbs to note!)
Ex. 가다( to go) = 갔어요 / 가았어요(X)
Ex. 자다 (to sleep) = 잤어요 / 자았어요 (X)
Ex. 사다(to buy) = 샀어요 / 사았어요 (X)
BEWARE OF SOME COMMON EXCEPTIONS!
Ex.
갖다 (to have) = 가졌어.
모르다 (to not know) = 몰랐어.
- When Stem ends in a vowel other than ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’, replace ‘-다’ with ‘-었어(요)’.
Ex. 울다 (to cry) = 울었어.
Ex. 주다(to give) = 주었어 (=줬어)
Ex. 먹다 (to eat) = 먹었어.
Ex. 있다 (to have; be) = 있었어.
Ex. 없다 (to not have; not be) = 없었어.
Ex. 듣다 (to hear; listen) = *들었어. *(Irregular verb!)
Ex. 되다 (to become) = 되었어 (=됐어)
- Verbs ending in -하다:
Ex. 하다 (to do) = 했어.
Ex. 공부하다 (to study) = 공부했어.
Ex. 말하다 (to speak; talk) = 말했어.
*
FUTURE TENSE CONJUGATION (for verbs and adjectives):
- When Stem ends in a vowel, replace ‘-다’ with ‘-ㄹ 거예요’ (-ㄹ 거야 in 반말 e. informal language)
Ex. 보다 (to see; watch) = 볼 거예요.
Ex. 가다 (to go) = 갈 거야.
Ex. 공부하다 (to study) = 공부할 거예요.
Ex. 말하다 (to speak; talk) = 말할 거야.
- When Stem ends in ‘ㄹ’ 받침, replace ‘-다’ with ‘-거예요’ (-거야 in 반말 e. informal language)
Ex. 살다 (to live) = 살 거예요.
Ex. 만들다 (to make) = 만들 거야.
- When Stem ends in a consonant, replace ‘-다’ with ‘-을 거예요’ (-을 거야 in 반말 e. informal language)
Ex. 먹다 (to eat) = 먹을 거예요.
Ex. 읽다 (to read) = 읽을 거예요.
Ex. 듣다 (to hear; listen) = *들을 거야. *(Irregular verb!)
Future Tense Additional Meaning
Future Tense form is also used to mean “may or might,” as in making a guess about something certain.
In that case, 아마 (an adverb that means maybe, probably) is oftentimes used along.
e.g.
엄마가 아마 안 올 거예요. Mom probably won’t come.
소금을 안 넣었어요. 그래서 안 짤 거예요. I didn’t put salt. So it won’t(may not) be salty.
그 핸드폰은 비쌀 거예요. That phone will be(might be) expensive.
More Example Sentences
| PRESENT TENSE | PAST TENSE | FUTURE TENSE |
| 저는 열심히 공부해요 = I study hard. | 저는 열심히 공부했어요 = I studied hard. | 저는 열심히 공부할 거예요 = I will study hard. |
| 우리는 그 영화 봐요 = We watch that movie. | 우리는 그 영화 봤어요 = We watched that movie. | 우리는 그 영화 볼 거예요 = We will watch that movie. |
| 지수가 제프를 알아 = Jisoo knows Jeff. | 지수가 제프를 알았어 = Jisoo knew Jeff. | 지수가 제프를 알 거야 = Jisoo will know Jeff. |