verb: verbs in swedish

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Guide to verbs in Swedish www.umea.host56.com

13/6/2011

Claire Williams

www.umea.host56.com | [email protected] © 2011 Claire Williams

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


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 verb

-ing or now Igår or past Har, hade, haft

Imperitiv Infinitiv Presens Preteritum / Imperfekt

Supinum

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


Supinum

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:


Supinum

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



Supinum

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



Supinum

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:


Supinum

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.

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 [email protected].

Good luck / Lycka till!


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

mailto:[email protected]

verb: verbs in swedish

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