3 · Tense and aspect
The double past -았/었었-
the past that has been cut off from now
A second -었- says that a past state or event no longer holds: 갔었어요, "I went (and came back)".
The double past adds -었- to a verb that is already past: 갔어요 → 갔었어요, 먹었어요 → 먹었었어요, 했어요 → 했었어요. The second syllable is always 었, whatever the vowel of the stem, because it follows the first past syllable, not the stem.
It marks something in the past as cut off from the present: it happened or was true then, and the situation has since changed. 부산에 갔어요 can mean "she went to Busan (and is there now)"; 부산에 갔었어요 means "she went to Busan (and has come back)" — a trip that is over. 머리가 길었어요 is "my hair was long"; 머리가 길었었어요 is "my hair used to be long", and it no longer is.
English has no single form for this. Depending on the context it comes out as "used to", "once", "had been", or a past with "but not any more" understood. It is not the English past perfect: Korean does not need it to put two past events in order. 도착했을 때 영화가 벌써 시작했어요, "when I arrived the film had already started", uses the ordinary past.
Use it when the contrast with now is the point — your old job, a place you visited, how things were before. In conversation it is also common for trips and visits that are over: 작년에 제주도에 갔었어요, "I went to Jeju last year". Using it for every past sounds odd; the ordinary past remains the default.
The form
| from 갔어요 | 갔었어요 |
| from 먹었어요 | 먹었었어요 |
| from 했어요 | 했었어요 |
| formal | 갔었습니다 |
| adjective | 길었었어요 |
| negative | 안 갔었어요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Add -었- to the past form; the second syllable never changes with the stem vowel.
작년에 일본에 한 번 갔었어요.I went to Japan once last year.
It says that a past state no longer holds.
예전에는 이 동네가 아주 조용했었어요.This neighbourhood used to be very quiet.
With verbs of going, it says that the trip is over and the person is back.
어제 친구 집에 갔었어요.I went round to a friend's house yesterday.
It contrasts then with now, so it often comes with a word like "before" or "once".
옛날에 저는 담배를 피웠었어요.I used to smoke a long time ago.
A closer look
Why this is not the past perfect
English has a past perfect for one past event that came before another: "I had eaten when she called". Korean manages that with the ordinary past and the context: 친구가 전화했을 때 저는 벌써 밥을 먹었어요. Using the double past here would add something English does not intend — that the eating has in some way been undone or no longer counts.
What the double past really does is draw a line between then and now. Compare 그 사람을 좋아했어요, "I liked him", and 그 사람을 좋아했었어요, "I used to like him": the second makes clear that the feeling has gone. That is why it turns up so often when people talk about their former jobs, old homes and old habits.
How to spot it
- 예전에
- 옛날에
- 전에는
- 어렸을 때
- 한때
Example sentences
어렸을 때 저는 키가 아주 작았었어요.When I was little I was very short.
전에 이 자리에 빵집이 있었었어요.There used to be a bakery on this spot.
그 영화는 예전에 한 번 봤었어요.I saw that film once before.
아까 사무실에 누가 왔었어요.Someone came by the office a little while ago.
대학교 때 기숙사에서 살았었어요.I lived in a hall of residence when I was at university.
그 가수는 한때 정말 인기가 많았었어요.That singer was once really popular.
7 more example sentences
전에는 매일 아침 운동을 했었어요.I used to exercise every morning.
이 거리는 옛날에 정말 복잡했었어요.This street used to be really busy.
작년 여름에 가족하고 제주도에 갔었어요.Last summer I went to Jeju with my family.
형은 예전에 은행에서 일했었어요.My older brother used to work at a bank.
어제 전화했었는데 안 받았어요.I called you yesterday, but you didn't answer.
고등학교 때 저는 머리가 길었었어요.At secondary school I had long hair.
여기에 큰 나무가 한 그루 있었었어요.There used to be a big tree here.
Worth knowing (1)
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Been, and back again
With 가다, the single past can leave the person still there: 민호 씨는 미국에 갔어요 suggests that Minho is in America now. The double past brings him home: 민호 씨는 미국에 갔었어요, "Minho has been to America". This is the clearest everyday use of the form.
저도 그 박물관에 갔었어요.I have been to that museum too.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The second past syllable follows the first, not the stem, so it is always 었: 갔었어요, 봤었어요. The vowel rule has already been used up on the first one.
One past says it happened; two say it is over.
Your turn
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