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Each verb occurs in five different verb forms in Swedish. The names of these are in Swedish: infinitiv, presens, preteritum, supinum and imperativ.
There are some general patterns to look out for across the verb groups. Infinitiv almost always ends in -a, sometimes in another vowel. Presens almost always ends with an -r.
Note that there is no difference between these two forms in English: "I run to the bus."(presens) and "I like to run. (infinitiv).
Supinum always ends with -t. Imperativ can end in a variety of ways, but for groups 1, 2 and 3 (not irregular group 4!) the rule is that imperativ is the supinum, but without the -t ending, as we can see below.
There are four different verb groups in Swedish. Group 1, 2 and 3 are regular, meaning they follow a certain pattern in all of the verb forms.
Group 4 is irregular and the verbs of this group have to be learned one by one. Many of the verbs in this group are very common. This makes it very important to learn many verbs from this group, but since they are common it is unavoidable.
Below follows first an outline of the different verb forms and examples from the four different groups of verbs.
In group 1 there is an -a present in all of the five verb forms.
Note also that infinitiv and imperativ look the same in this group:
| Infinitiv | Presens | Preteritum | Supinum | Imperativ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| arbeta | arbetar | arbetade | arbetat | Arbeta! |
| studera | studerar | studerade | studerat | Studera! |
| cykla | cyklar | cyklade | cyklat | Cykla! |
| betala | betalar | betalade | betalat | Betala! |
The verbs in group 2 end with –er in presens and end in –de (2a) or –te (2b) (after p, k, t, s) in preteritum.
Note that infinitiv and imperativ are not the same in this group.
| Infinitiv | Presens | Preteritum | Supinum | Imperativ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bygga | bygger | byggde | byggt | Bygg! |
| ringa | ringer | ringde | ringt | Ring! |
| läsa | läser | läste | läst | Läs! |
| köpa | köper | köpte | köpt | Köp! |
Group 3 is a small group with short verbs.
Infinitiv and imperativ are the same.
| Infinitiv | Presens | Preteritum | Supinum | Imperativ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bo | bor | bodde | bott | Bo! |
| tro | tror | trodde | trott | Tro! |
| må | mår | mådde | mått | Må! |
| sy | syr | sydde | sytt | Sy! |
Group 4 contains verbs that do not follow the patterns of groups 1, 2 or 3.
Preteritum in particular, but also supinum look very different in this group.
| Infinitiv | Presens | Preteritum | Supinum | Imperativ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dricka | dricker | drack | druckit | Drick! |
| äta | äter | åt | ätit | Ät! |
| gå | går | gick | gått | Gå! |
| sova | sover | sov | sovit | Sov! |
| kunna | kan | kunde | kunnat | - |
| få | får | fick | fått | Få! |
| ha | har | hade | haft | Ha! |
| vara | är | var | varit | Var! |
Fill in the blanks in the table below. Use the visible verb forms and the verb groups as hints of the missing forms.