Verb Verbs in Swedish PDF

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Guide to verbs in Swedish
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13/6/2011
Claire Williams
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Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Swedish Verbs ............................................................................................................................... 3
Forms ............................................................................................................................................ 4
 Imperativ and Stem ............................................................................................................ 4
 Infinitiv............................................................................................................................... 4
 Presens .............................................................................................................................. 4
 Preteritum or Imperfekt ..................................................................................................... 4
 Supinum............................................................................................................................. 4
Help verbs – Hjälpverb................................................................................................................... 5
Groups of Verbs ................................................................................................................................ 5
Group 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Group 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Group 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Group 4 – Verbs with -it endings when used after hade or har or haft........................................ 9
Group 4 – Irregular Verbs......................................................................................................... 11
The end! .......................................................................................................................................... 11
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© 2011 Claire Williams
Introduction
Grammar is one of the most daunting things one can try to master when learning a foreign language.
In your mother tongue it is the sort of thing that you ‘just know’ as you can recognise what sounds
right and wrong and how things work. In a second language this is not the case and thus grown up,
well educated people can start to question their own intelligence when faced with what should be
basic knowledge and techniques. I realise this might not be the same for everyone but this was my
experience in any case and so I made it my mission to try and help the learning of verbs in Swedish
that bit easier for people.
When I first started to learn Swedish it seemed to start very well, that was when I was learning
phrases and words and not having to think about grammar, sentence formation or anything else
difficult. So I was happily learning away and then I hit VERBS and my little confident bubble of
learning crumbled around my ears. Suddenly there were different forms of the same word that I
should be using and inserting and working out which to use and how to use them.
Learning this sort of thing when I was in school just kind of passed me by, I could never remember
terms for words and had no idea what they meant even if I could – it was all I could do to remember
that verbs were ‘doing’ words! I remembered when learning French at school there were tenses and
things to remember and think about but quite frankly I relied on remembering phrases rather than
rules which got me through.
In Swedish I had no chance of working out my imperative from my infinitive and I was in a circle of
misery, no matter how it was explained to me I just couldn’t get it to make sense or stick in my head.
Then one day a teacher at my SFI course wrote a few words on my piece of grammar paper and it all
clicked into place. She explained what words would be used with the verb forms and BANG it all
became “translatable” in my head.
Swedish Verbs
There are 4 groups of verbs and I will try to go through each one and explain, as best as I can and as
clearly as I can how each one works and how each is identifiable. However, the step that most of
the teaching misses out is this one – I am going to explain exactly what each of the forms mean and
when they are used so you can then work out which form of the verb you require in the first place!
This isn’t meant to be patronising, I am just assuming no prior knowledge of things like this as it
really confused me when trying to learn myself. Feel free to skip this section if you are happy with
the tenses and their forms.
Forms
When learning verbs you will be presented with tables upon tables of words in their varying forms,
this is what those forms are and how to identify when to use them.
 Imperativ and Stem – This is quite simply when you give someone an order. Imagine you
yelling this at someone and watching them act. SPRING! KÖR! - RUN! DRIVE! Etc. Often
these are actually written with exclamation points. The ‘imperitiv’ also creates the STEM of
the verb (the bit that never changes) and is in every form – this is actually quite important so
pay attention to the ‘imperativ’ even if you don’t want to yell orders at someone!
 Infinitiv – This is the basic form of the verb, so for example ‘to run’ or ‘to walk’ which is
what one does – for example “I like to dance” is “Jag tycker om att dansa”. In Swedish this
form is used after something called “help” words, these are words like ‘ska’ (Jag ska dricka
cola – I will drink coke). It does not define when you shall do something just that you will at
some point. There are other help verbs which can be used instead of ‘ska’ and these just
need to be learned and recognised as help verbs as they pop up a lot. I will talk about those
shortly.
 Presens – The present tense is describing what you are doing right now and would most
often be equivalent of –ing words. Swedish generally uses fewer words than English to
describe what they are doing – for example “solen skiner” would mean “The sun is shining”.
 Preteritum or Imperfekt – This is the past tense so think of yesterday or ‘igår’ in Swedish.
So if you just want to say “I drank too much” then it would be “Jag drack för mycket”. For
those of you who are into English grammar this is equivalent of the Imperfect Past Particle.
This always confused me as there are the two potential and equally common names for the
same form - the ‘preteritum’ and the ‘imperfekt’ – as a warning you are likely to come across
them both.
 Supinum – This is also a past tense but this is used when you say you “have” done
something. For example “I have drunk too much” would become “Jag har druckit för
mycket” So you use this form when you use the word “har, hade or haft” to describe your
actions. Technically when you use “hade” and then the supinum it can be known as the
preteritum perfekt (or the perfect past participle in English) however I am not going to go
into this as so far I have found no need to do so.
So in short remember this –
Order! / Stem Ska or help verb -ing or now Igår or past Har, hade, haft
Imperitiv Infinitiv Presens Preteritum / Imperfekt Supinum
OK so if you can get your head round that then it should help you out with the following sections…
Help verbs – Hjälpverb
You will come across these a lot when learning Swedish as they help decipher word order in
sentences and things. The best idea to my mind is just to learn them off by heart as early as
possible and recognise them as help verbs, even if you don’t quite understand what that means yet!
The most common one and the one I use as an example below is “ska” meaning “will”.
får Be allowed or get (is my interpretation of the most commonly used version)
Borde Should
Behöver Need
Hinner Reach / manage / have time to
Ska Will
Vill Want
måste Must
Brukar Usually
kan Can
Groups of Verbs
In Swedish verbs come in 4 groups, there is no reason for this other than so you can work out how
to “bend” the verb into the different forms, as explained above. Try not to get too hung up on this
as it will get easier the more practice you get.
Remember the stem is made up from the imperitiv (this is actually quite important) – the ending of
each tense depends largely on the stem and the stem NEVER changes between tenses (until we hit
group 4), it is always the beginning of the verb with different things tagged on the end.
Basically the group to which a verb belongs defines how that verb is formed in the different tenses; a
brief breakdown is as such –
Order / Stem Ska or help -ing or now Igår or past Har, hade,
verb haft
Imperitiv Infinitiv Presens Preteritum / Supinum
Imperfekt
Group 1 Tvätta! tvätta tvättar tvättade tvättat
Group 2a behöv! behöva behöver behövde behövt
Group 2b Sök! söka söker sökte sökt
Group 3 Bo! bo bor bodde bott
Group 4 has been left off this table as it is a bit of a law unto itself as you will see further down so
believe me when I say you are just going to have to buckle down and get to know them individually!
Group 1
The stem (or imperitiv) of this verb ALWAYS ends in an –A. It is also true that the infinitive also
always ends in an A or said another way, whenever ska is used the word that follows ends in an A
e.g. “Jag ska titta på teve” – “I will watch TV”. I personally find it difficult to recognise verbs in this
way so I always bend them in my head to be the supinum or preteritum, as above as they sound
more different to each other and is easier to recognise. So in short:
 The imperitiv or Stem always ends in -A

 When following “ska” the word ends in an -A
 When actively doing something right now it ends in -AR
 When you did something previously the ending is -ADE
 When you HAVE done something previously the ending is -AT
Order / Stem Ska or help verb -ing or now Igår or past Har, hade, haft
Imperfekt
Titta! titta tittar tittade tittat
Betala! betala betalar betalade betalat
Studera! studera studerar studerade studerat
Jobba! jobba jobbar jobbade jobbat
Prata! prata pratar pratade pratat
Parkera! parkera parkerar parkerade parkerat
Arbeta! arbeta arbetar arbetade arbetat
Städa! städa städar städade städat
Bada! bada badar badade badat
Duscha! duscha duschar duschade duschat
Tala! tala talar talade talat
Fråga! fråga frågar frågade frågat
Svara! svara svarar svarade svarat
Stanna! stanna stannar stannade stannat
Lämna! lämna lämnar lämnade lämnat
Hämta! hämta hämtar hämtade hämtat
Börja! börja börjar började började
Sluta! sluta slutar slutade slutat
Hälsa! hälsa hälsar hälsade hälsat
So to translate one of the examples above with examples:

Imperfekt
Titta! titta tittar tittade tittat
Jag ska titta Jag tittar Jag tittade Jag har tittat
LOOK! I am going to look I am looking I looked I have looked
Group 2
This group is a little more complex as there is 2a and 2b as you can see from the table above. This
group is identifiable from Group 1 because the stem ALWAYS ends in a CONSONANT. If this
consonant happens to be an R (eg Kör) then you do not add anything in the ‘presens’ tense, these
are often short verbs like köra, höra, göra.
The group 2b comes about when specific consonants are found at the end, this then only affects the
peritium tense. These consonants are P, T, K, S, X. If the stem ends in one of these consonants then
the past tense of this will end in –te instead of –de.
So the basic rules for group 2 are:
 The imperitiv or stem always ends in a CONSONANT

 When following “ska” they always end in a –A
 When doing something right now it ends in –ER (unless the stem ends in R in which case you
do nothing to it)
 When you did something previously you add –DE (unless the stem ends in P T K S X in which
case you add –TE instead)
 When you HAVE done something previously you add –T
Imperfekt
Behöv! Behöva behöver behövde Behövt
Bygg! Bygga bygger byggde Byggt
Fyll! Fylla fyller fyllde Fyllt
Följ! Följa följer följde följt
Gäll! Gälla gäller gällde Gällt
Höj! höja höjer höjde höjt
Ring! ringa ringer ringde ringt
Släng! slänga slänger slängde slängt
Stäng! stänga stänger stängde Stängt
Ställ! ställa ställer ställde ställt
Sväng! svänga svänger svängde svängt
Väg! väga väger vägde vägt
Äg! äga äger ägde ägt
Hör! höra hör hörde hört
Kör! köra kör körde kört
Säg! säga säger sade sagt
Sök!* söka söker sökte sökt
Sätt!* sätta sätter satte satt
*Examples of group 2b verbs, see the difference?
Group 3
This is a relatively small group of verbs as they are the bulk of the short verbs. They are identifiable
as they have long vowels sounds in the stem which are then shortened in the two past tenses. The
stem can end in either a vowel or a consonant so these are harder to spot.
Here we go with the rules:
 The ‘imperitiv’ or stem can end in anything but is a short word with a loooong vowel sound
 When following “ska” they take the same form as the stem
 When doing something right now you add a –R
 When you did something previously you add –DDE
 When you HAVE done something previously you add -TT
Imperfekt
Bo! bo bor bodde bott
Bero! bero beror berodde berott
Ro! ro ror rodde rott
Sno! sno snor snodde snott
Tro! tro tror trodde trott
Ske! ske sker skedde skett
Avsky! avsky avskyr avskydde avskytt
Bry! bry bryr brydde brytt
Fly! fly flyr flydde flytt
Spy! spy spyr spydde Spytt
Sy! sy syr sydde sytt
Må! må mår mådde mått
Nå! nå når nådde nått
Spå! spå spår spådde spått
Så! så sår sådde sått
Klä! klä klär klädde klätt
So to translate one of the examples above with examples:

Imperfekt
Bo! bo bor bodde bott
Jag vill bo i Sverige Jag bor i Sverige Jag bodde i sverige Jag har bott i sverige
LIVE! I want to live in Sweden I am living in Sweden I lived in Sweden I have lived in Sweden
That’s not so hard right? Wait till you get to group 4 they will blow your mind! They throw away all
of the rules above and make up their own set entirely changing letters etc. I find it easiest to think
of all verbs in group 4 as irregular verbs and thus just need learning off by heart. Oh did I mention
they also have their own set of irregular verbs too?!
Group 4 – Verbs with -it endings when used after hade or har or haft
A good rule to remember is if a verb has the letter it in the middle of it, then it will probably belong
to these group of odd verbs which all adhere to the following rules. The defining feature of group 4
verbs is that they all end in –IT when in the supinum form!
To make your life easier I have included tables below of the different types of Group 4 verbs you can
get and how to bend them…
Imperitiv Infinitiv Presens Preteritum / Imperfekt Supinum
i a u
bind binda binder band bundit
drick dricka dricker drack druckit
finns finnas finns fanns funnits
hinn hinna hinner hann hunnit
sitt sitta sitter satt suttit
slipp slippa slipper slapp sluppit
spring springa springer sprang sprungit
vinn vinna vinner vann vunnit
Order / Shout! Ska or help verb -ing or now Igår or past Har, hade, haft
Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum
i e i
beskriv beskriva beskriver beskrev beskrivit
bli bli blir blev blivit
driv driva driver drev drivit
rid rida rider red ridit
skin skina skiner sken skinit
skrik skrika skriker skrek skrikit
skriv skriva skiver skrev skrivit
stig stiga stiger steg stigit
vrid vrida vrider vred vridit
Order / Shout! Ska or help verb -ing or now Igår or past Har, hade, haft
u ö u
bjud bjuda bjuder bjöd bjudit
dammsug dammsuga dammsuger dammsög dammsugit
hugg hugga hugger högg huggit
sjung sjunga sjunger sjöng sjungit
sjunk sjunka sjunker sjönk sjunkit
skjut skjuta skjuter sköt skjutit
y ö u
bryt bryta bryter bröt Brutit
flyg flyga flyger flög Flugit
frys frysa fryser frös Frusit
stryk stryka stryker strök strukit

a/å o a
dra dra drar drog dragit
slå slå slår slog slagit
ta ta tar tog tagit

å ä å
gråt gråta gråter grät gråtit
låt låta låter lät låtit

a/å ö a/å
fall falla faller föll fallit
håll hålla håller höll hållit

ä å ä
ät äta äter åt ätit

ä a u
stjäl stjäla stjäl stal stulit

o o o
försov försova försover försov försovit
kom komma kommer kom kommit
sov sova sover sov sovit
återkom återkomma återkommer återkom återkommit
Group 4 – Irregular Verbs
Some of these are also the most common verbs you will use.

be be ber bad bett
bestå bestå består bestod bestått
böra bör borde bort
dö dö dör dog dött
fortsätt fortsätta fortsätter fortsatte fortsatt
få få får fick fått
förstå förstå förstår Förstod (g) förstått
ge ge ger gav Get/givit
gå gå går gick gått
gör göra gör gjorde gjort
ha ha har hade haft
het heta heter hette hetat
kunna kan kunde kunnat
ligg ligga ligger låg legat
lägg lägga lägger la(de) lagt
måste måste måst
pågå pågar pågick pågått
se se ser såg sett
skola ska ska skulle skolat
stå stå står stod (stog) stått
säg sägs säger sa(de) sagt
sälj sälja säljer sålde sålt
sätt sätta sätter satte satt
vet veta vet visste vetat
vill vilja vill ville velat
välj välja väljer valde valt
var vara är var varit
The end!
Still with me? If so I am most impressed. You will be delighted to know that that is all there is to say
about verbs in Swedish…at least for now! So, if you understand everything I have said above, and
can cope with having to learn at least the most used of the group 4 verbs then you will never
struggle with verbs again. I hope this guide has been some kind of help for you, your thoughts and
feedback would be much appreciated to umea@hillsideweb.co.uk.
Good luck / Lycka till!

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qwertyuiopasdfghjkläzxcvbnmqwert

So in short remember this –

 The imperitiv or Stem always ends in -A

Imperitiv Infinitiv Presens Preteritum / Supinum

So the basic rules for group 2 are:

 The imperitiv or stem always ends in a CONSONANT

Here we go with the rules:

Imperitiv Infinitiv Presens Preteritum / Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Imperativ Infinitiv Presens Preteritum/ Imperfekt Supinum

Good luck / Lycka till!

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