Korean Past Perfect Tense Verbs/Adjectives 았었어, 었었어요

This pattern is used to express something or a situation that occurred in the past but did not continue or something separate from the present because it occurred much earlier than when the speaker is describing it. It approximates to ‘did/had (in the past)' in English.

It is formed by adding -았었어요 to the stems of verbs and adjectives with stems ending in the vowel ㅏ or ㅗ (아 어 야). Otherwise, -었었어요 is added. For verbs ending in 하다, 했었어요 is added.

Example:

미국에 갔었어요. I have been to the U.S. (I went to, and have already returned from, the U.S.)

중국에서 살았었어요. I (have) lived in China. (I don’t live in China now.)

What’s the Difference Between -았/었어요 and -았/었었어요:

-았/었어요 expresses that something simply occurred in the past or that an action or situation that ended in the past has remained that way, e.g.:

댄 씨는 서울에서 1 년 살았어요. (Dane has been living in Seoul for one year. He previously lived in Seoul for one year, but we don’t know where he lives now.)

-았/었었어요 expresses a past occurrence that does not continue to the present, e.g.:

댄 씨는 서울에서 1 년 동안 살았었어요. (Dane previously lived in Seoul for one year, but now he does not live in Seoul.)