How do you know somebody is talking about the past? In Korean, “ㅆ” in the final position of a verb is a surefire way to identify past tense. ALL Korean verbs in the past tense have “ㅆ” in the final position of the last stem syllable, WITHOUT AN EXCEPTION. It’s the Korean signature sound of remembering all things past ^^
The only caveat is that the actual pronunciation of the “ㅆ” may change when it’s followed by a consonant, notably when followed by “ㄴ” – In this case, nasalization happens to “ㅆ”, making it sound CLEARLY “ㄴ”, according to Consonant Assimilation rules:
ㅆ + vowel (ㅇ) : 사랑했어요 [Actual pronunciation = 사랑해써요] (I loved)
ㅆ + consonant ㄱ: 사랑했고 [Actual pronunciation = 사랑해꼬] (I loved, and)
ㅆ + consonant ㅈ : 사랑했지 [Actual pronunciation = 사랑해찌] (I loved, yeah!)
ㅆ + consonant ㄴ : 사랑했는데 [Actual pronunciation = 사랑핸는데] (I loved, but)
If there is just one chart you should learn by heart to be able to pronounce Korean words correctly, it’s Consonant Assimilation Rules Chart:
https://www.koreanwikiproject.com/wiki/Category:Consonant_assimilation
Can you identify verbs in past tense in the following song, and pronounce them correctly, like Gummy the Singer?
Check out our Facebook for much more:
