| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| PHRASE + STEM았/었/였 + 을 때 + VERB PHRASE |
| (PHRASE + STEM-ass/-eoss/-yeoss + eul ttae + VERB PHRASE) |
| When A happened, B happened afterward. |
| We use this pattern to describe two events that happened in sequence. The first part sets up what happened first, and the second part explains what followed. |
| To form it, you take the past tense of a verb stem and attach -았/었/였을 때, which means “when [A] happened.” |
| The specific ending—-았, -었, or -였—depends on the last vowel in the verb stem. Then we add 을 때, which means “when.” |
| This gives us a time expression that sets the scene for the second part of the sentence, where we describe what happened next. |
| This structure is especially useful for telling a story, explaining a sequence of actions, or giving context to something that occurred. |
| Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| 아침에 창문을 열었을 때 바람이 많이 불었어요. |
| In this sentence: |
| 아침에 (achime) means “in the morning.” This sets the time when the first action happened. |
| 창문을 열었을 때 is the focus of the pattern. The verb 열다 (to open) becomes 열었 in the past tense, and then we attach -을 때 to make 열었을 때, which means “when (I) opened.” |
| The word 창문을 (changmuneul) is the object—창문 means “window,” and 을 is the object-marking particle. So 창문을 열었을 때 means “when I opened the window.” |
| Next, we have the result: 바람이 많이 불었어요. |
| 바람이 means “the wind” as the subject. |
| 많이 means “a lot,” and |
| 불었어요 is the past tense of 불다, meaning “to blow.” |
| So, 아침에 창문을 열었을 때 바람이 많이 불었어요 means: |
| “When I opened the window in the morning, it was really windy.” |
| Now you can use this structure to describe any sequence of events in the past—like what happened when you got home, when you met someone, or when you turned on the light! |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| 집에 도착했을 때 엄마가 없었어요. (Jibe dochakhaesseul ttae eommaga eopseosseoyo.) |
| When I arrived home, my mom wasn’t there. |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, ‘집에 도착했을 때’ is the first part of the sentence. The verb 도착하다 means “to arrive,” and in this case, it is in the past tense: 도착했. Then we attach 을 때, meaning “when,” forming 도착했을 때, which gives us “when (I) arrived.” This matches the STEM았/었/였 + 을 때 part of the pattern. |
| The second part, ‘엄마가 없었어요’, is the result or follow-up action. 엄마가 (mom) is the subject, marked by 가, and 없었어요 is the past tense of 없다 (to not be present). So this part means “Mom wasn’t there.” It fits the VERB PHRASE that follows the time clause. |
| Here's another example |
| 티비를 켰을 때 드라마가 이미 하고 있었어요. (Tibireul kyeosseul ttae deuramaga imi hago isseosseoyo.) |
| When I turned on the TV, the drama was already on. |
| 티비를 켰을 때 드라마가 이미 하고 있었어요. (Tibireul kyeosseul ttae deuramaga imi hago isseosseoyo.) |
| When I turned on the TV, the drama was already on. |
| Let's try one more, |
| 냉장고를 열었을 때 먹을 게 아무것도 없었어요. (Naengjanggoreul yeoreosseul ttae meogeul ge amugeotdo eopseosseoyo.) |
| When I opened the fridge, there was nothing to eat. |
| 냉장고를 열었을 때 먹을 게 아무것도 없었어요. (Naengjanggoreul yeoreosseul ttae meogeul ge amugeotdo eopseosseoyo.) |
| When I opened the fridge, there was nothing to eat. |
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