The Verb World · Lesson 2 of 6
Past & Future
Time-travel for verbs — ~았/었어요 for what happened, ~(으)ㄹ 거예요 for what's coming.
You can talk about now. With two more endings — built on the exact same stem-and-harmony rule — you unlock yesterday and tomorrow.
Past tense: ~았/었어요
Same harmony choice as the present, just with a 받침 added: 았어요 after bright ㅏ/ㅗ, 었어요 everywhere else. (And 하다 → 했어요.)
You already own these: 밥 먹었어요? (Course 2), 미국에서 왔어요 (Course 2), 잘 먹었습니다. The past tense was hiding in your survival phrases the whole time.
공부했어요
gongbuhaesseoyo
studied
하다 → 했어요. 운동했어요 (exercised), 일했어요 (worked).
Future / intention: ~(으)ㄹ 거예요
For plans and predictions — “I'm going to…”, “it'll probably…” — add ㄹ 거예요 after a vowel stem, or 을 거예요 after a consonant stem (that helper 으 again, the same one from 으시 and the particles):
갈 거예요
gal geoyeyo
will go / am going to go
가- ends in a vowel → ㄹ 거예요.
먹을 거예요
meogeul geoyeyo
will eat
먹- ends in a consonant → 을 거예요.
할 거예요
hal geoyeyo
will do
하 → 할 거예요. 공부할 거예요 (will study).
A timeline, in one breath
(I) went yesterday.
(I) go / am going now.
(I) will go tomorrow.
Try it
Put 보다 (to see) into the past tense.Show answerAnswer
Say “I will eat tomorrow.”Show answerAnswer
What you just learned
- Past ~았/었어요 (same harmony); 하다 → 했어요.
- Your survival phrases (먹었어요, 왔어요) were past tense all along.
- Future ~(으)ㄹ 거예요: vowel stem → ㄹ 거예요, consonant stem → 을 거예요.
- Time words (어제·지금·내일) set the scene; the ending confirms it.
Quick check
Did it stick?
Three quick questions — instant answers, no grades, no pressure.
1.The past tense of 하다 is…
2.“Will eat” (먹다) is…
3.왔어요 (from 미국에서 왔어요) is which tense?
Want the why behind the words?
The reading path explains the culture and logic that make Korean click — a perfect companion to these lessons.