How to Say "Dad went to the sea yesterday" in Korean | -아/어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "Dad went to the sea yesterday" in Korean is "아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요." (appaga eoje badae gateoyo.). It uses the -아/어요 grammar pattern (Polite Ending (-아/어요)). Level: A1.

"Dad went to the sea yesterday" — in Korean, this becomes "아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요.". This example highlights -아/어요, a grammar pattern at the A1 level that appears everywhere in Korean.

Category: 가족

What does "Dad went to the sea yesterday" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요." translates to "Dad went to the sea yesterday." in English. The phrase "아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요." translates as "dad went to the sea yesterday". What makes it stand out is how Korean packages the entire idea: the subject comes first, the context follows, and the action wraps it up at the end.

Pronunciation guide: appaga eoje badae gateoyo.

Grammar Point: Polite Ending (-아/어요)

The -아/어요 ending is the standard polite speech level in Korean. Use -아요 after bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ), -어요 after dark vowels, and 해요 for 하다 verbs.

가다 → 가요, 먹다 → 먹어요, 하다 → 해요. This is the most common speech level in daily Korean.

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 아빠가 (appaga) • 어제 (eoje) • 바다에 (badae) • 갔어요 (gateoyo)

Korean sentences always end with the verb. Get comfortable putting the action word last — it is the most important difference from English.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

This expression sounds like something from a classic adventure tale — and that is exactly the register Korean uses for warm, everyday communication.

Cultural Insight

한국어에는 '새벽', '이른 아침', '한낮', '해질녘', '밤' 등 하루의 시간을 세분화하는 아름다운 표현들이 있어요.

Examples

아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요. — appaga eoje badae gateoyo. — Dad went to the sea yesterday.

아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요? — appaga eoje badae gateoyo? — Dad went to the sea yesterday?

오늘도 아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요. — oneuldo appaga eoje badae gateoyo. — Today too, dad went to the sea yesterday.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 먹아요 → Correct: 먹어요. The stem 먹- ends in a dark vowel (ㅓ), so it takes -어요 not -아요. Match the vowel harmony.

Incorrect: 갔어요 아빠가 어제 바다에 → Correct: 아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요. Korean uses Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. The verb must come at the end of the sentence, unlike English where it comes after the subject.

Quiz

How do you say "Dad went to the sea yesterday" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "아빠가 어제 바다에 갔어요.". appaga eoje badae gateoyo.

Fill in the blank: 아빠가 어제 바다에 ___

The correct ending is "갔어요". The polite -요 form is essential for everyday Korean conversation.