Day78 One-line Summary
Korean talking about your day past tense | Today you practice talking about your day using past tense -았/었어요, especially with a simple 2–3 sentence routine: morning → lunch → evening.
Past Tense Core Rule -았/었어요
Korean past tense is usually:
- Verb/adj stem + 았/었어요
Common high-frequency forms (memorize these first):
- 가다 → 갔어요 (went)
- 오다 → 왔어요 (came)
- 먹다 → 먹었어요 (ate)
- 마시다 → 마셨어요 (drank)
- 보다 → 봤어요 (saw/watched)
- 하다 → 했어요 (did)
- 자다 → 잤어요 (slept)
- 쉬다 → 쉬었어요 (rested)
Beginner tip: Noun + 했어요 is super useful.
예) 공부했어요 (studied), 운동했어요 (worked out), 청소했어요 (cleaned)
Time Words You’ll Use Today
- 아침에 / 오전에 (in the morning)
- 점심에 (at lunch / for lunch)
- 오후에 (in the afternoon)
- 저녁에 (in the evening)
- 밤에 (at night)
- 오늘 (today) / 어제 (yesterday)
- 집에서 (at home) / 회사에서 (at work) / 학교에서 (at school)
Put these at the start of your sentence and your Korean will sound natural.
12 Practical Sentence Patterns
- 오늘 뭐 했어요? (What did you do today?)
- 저는 오늘 ___했어요. (I ___ today.)
- 오전에 ___했어요. (In the morning, I ___.)
- 점심에 ___ 먹었어요. (For lunch, I ate ___.)
- 오후에 ___했어요. (In the afternoon, I ___.)
- 저녁에 ___했어요. (In the evening, I ___.)
- 밤에 ___했어요. (At night, I ___.)
- 집에서 쉬었어요. (I rested at home.)
- 친구를 만났어요. (I met a friend.)
- 카페에 갔어요. (I went to a café.)
- 오늘 정말 바빴어요. (I was really busy today.)
- 좀 피곤했어요. (I was a bit tired.)
Mini Dialogue 1 The Standard 3-Sentence Answer
A: 오늘 뭐 했어요?
B: 오전에 일했어요. 점심에 김밥 먹었어요. 저녁에 집에서 쉬었어요.
A: 피곤했어요?
B: 네, 좀 피곤했어요.
Key point: This “morning–lunch–evening” structure is the easiest beginner format.
Mini Dialogue 2 Using 했어요 for Everything
A: 오늘 뭐 했어요?
B: 오늘 공부했어요. 운동했어요. 청소했어요.
A: 와, 바빴어요!
B: 네, 조금 바빴어요.
Key point: If you’re unsure, use Noun + 했어요.
Mini Dialogue 3 Places + Past Tense
A: 오늘 어디 갔어요? (Where did you go today?)
B: 카페에 갔어요. 친구를 만났어요.
A: 재밌었어요? (Was it fun?)
B: 네, 재밌었어요.
Class Script Teacher Student
Teacher: Start with the question. Repeat: “오늘 뭐 했어요?”
Student: 오늘 뭐 했어요?
Teacher: Now 3 core past verbs: “갔어요 / 먹었어요 / 했어요.”
Student: 갔어요. 먹었어요. 했어요.
Teacher: Add time words: “오전에… 점심에… 저녁에…”
Student: 오전에 일했어요. 점심에 밥 먹었어요. 저녁에 쉬었어요.
Teacher: Add one feeling sentence: “피곤했어요 / 즐거웠어요 / 바빴어요.”
Student: 피곤했어요.
Teacher: Perfect. Today’s goal is a clean 4-sentence set.
Drills 5 Sets
Drill 1 Say the past forms 10 times
갔어요 / 왔어요 / 먹었어요 / 마셨어요 / 봤어요 / 했어요 / 잤어요 / 쉬었어요
Drill 2 Change the question
- 오늘 뭐 했어요? → 어제 뭐 했어요?
- 오늘 어디 갔어요? → 어제 어디 갔어요?
Drill 3 Fill the blanks 3 sentences
- 오전에 ___했어요.
- 점심에 ___ 먹었어요.
- 저녁에 ___했어요.
Drill 4 Add “그리고” to connect
- 오전에 일했어요. 그리고 점심에 밥 먹었어요.
Drill 5 Make your own “daily routine” version
“오전에 __했어요. 점심에 __ 먹었어요. 오후에 __했어요. 저녁에 __했어요.”
Common Beginner Mistakes 3
- Don’t mix present and past in one “finished” story
- Finished today → 갔어요 / 했어요 / 먹었어요
- Habit/future → 가요 / 해요 / 먹어요
- Don’t invent forms like “춥요” (wrong style)
- Use correct polite forms: 추워요 / 더워요
- “했어요” is great, but don’t overuse it
Mix in: 갔어요 / 왔어요 / 먹었어요 / 봤어요 / 만났어요
Real-life Missions Do It Today
- Say 2 sentences right now
- “오늘 ___했어요. 그래서 ___했어요.”
Example: “오늘 일했어요. 그래서 피곤했어요.”
- Say your day in 3 sentences
- morning + lunch + evening
- Send a simple text message
- Polite: “오늘 뭐 했어요?”
- Casual: “오늘 뭐 했어?”
Quiz Answers below
- Past tense of 하다 is: (a) 했어요 (b) 해요
- Best match for “I went”: (a) 갔어요 (b) 가요
- Fill in: “점심에 밥을 __.” (먹었어요 / 먹어요)
- Fill in: “어제 집에서 __.” (쉬었어요 / 쉬어요)
Answers: 1-a, 2-a, 3-먹었어요, 4-쉬었어요
Homework
- Write 3 sentences about today
- “오전에… 점심에… 저녁에…” (3 sentences)
- Make 10 past tense verbs
Example: 가다→갔어요, 오다→왔어요, 보다→봤어요 … (10 total) - Add 2 “feeling” sentences
- “오늘 ___했어요. 그래서 ___했어요.”
Example: “오늘 공부했어요. 그래서 뿌듯했어요.” (I felt proud/satisfied)