Introduction to Swedish/Verb tenses
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Grammar[edit | edit source]
Swedish verbs have two inflected tenses: present and past. The other tenses are made by combining auxiliary verbs with infinite forms. Swedish verbs have five active forms.
Verb forms: example arbeta
| Form | English | Swedish | Formation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperative | work! | arbeta! | Stem |
| Infinitive | (to) work | (att) arbeta | stem + -a, or no change |
| Present | (I) work | (jag) arbetar | stem + -r, -er |
| Preterite | (I) worked | Jag arbetade | stem + -de, -te |
| Supine | (I have) worked | Jag har arbetat | stem + -t, -tt, -it |
1st conjugation tenses: example arbeta
| Tense | English | Swedish | Form of verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperative | Work! | Arbeta! | Stem |
| Present | I work | Jag arbetar | stem + -r |
| Past | I worked | Jag arbetade | stem + -de |
| Simple perfect | I have worked | Jag har arbetat | har + supine |
| Past perfect | I had worked | Jag hade arbetat | hade + supine |
| Simple future | I will work | Jag ska arbeta | ska + infinitive |
2nd conjugation: example bränna
| Tense | English | Swedish | Form of verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperative | Burn! | Bränn! | Stem |
| Present | I burn | Jag bränner | stem + -er |
| Past | I burned | Jag brände | stem + -de, -te |
| Simple perfect | I have burned | Jag har bränt | har + supine |
| Past perfect | I had burned | Jag hade bränt | hade + supine |
| Simple future | I will burn | Jag ska bränna | ska + infinitive |
3rd conjugation: example tro
| Tense | English | Swedish | Form of verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperative | Believe! | Tro! | Stem |
| Present | I believe | Jag tror | stem + -r |
| Past | I believed | Jag trodde | stem + -dde |
| Simple perfect | I have believed | Jag har trott | har + supine |
| Past perfect | I had believed | Jag hade trott | hade + supine |
| Simple future | I will believe | Jag ska tro | ska + infinitive |
4th conjugation: example finna
| Tense | English | Swedish | Form of verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperative | Find! | Finn! | Stem |
| Present | I find | Jag finner | stem + -er |
| Past | I found | Jag fann | Stem + vowel change |
| Simple perfect | I have found | Jag har funnit | har + vowel change + -it |
| Past perfect | I had found | Jag hade funnit | hade + vowel change + -it |
| Simple future | I will find | Jag ska finna | ska + infinitive |
Verbs in the 4th conjugation inflect by vowel changes (ablauts) in the preterite and supine forms. These vowel changes vary between verbs but are partly dependent on the vowels in the stem.
Irregular verbs: example gå
Irregular verbs usually follow one conjugation, but have one or two forms out of the ordinary.
| Tense | English | Swedish |
|---|---|---|
| Imperative | Walk! | Gå! |
| Present | I walk | Jag går |
| Past | I walked | Jag gick |
| Simple perfect | I have walked | Jag har gått |
| Past perfect | I had walked | Jag hade gått |
| Simple future | I will walk | Jag ska gå |
The irregular verbs har/hade and ska/skulle are used in complex verb tenses in much the same way as have/had and will/would are used in English.
har & hade
| (att) ha | to have |
| jag hade | I had |
| jag har haft | I have had |
| jag har | I have |
ska & skulle
| jag ska | I will |
| jag skulle | I would |
Note that Swedish does not have a correlate to the English continuous/progressive forms.
| English | Swedish |
|---|---|
| I work | Jag arbetar |
| I am working | Jag arbetar |
| I worked | Jag arbetade |
| I was working | Jag arbetade |
Example sentences[edit | edit source]
| Jag arbetade igår. | I worked yesterday. |
| Det har gått ett år. | One year has passed. |
| Ni ska arbeta i morgon. | You will work tomorrow. |
| De gick och arbetade i parken. | They went for work in the park. (or They walked and worked in the park.) |
| De arbetade och gick i parken. | They worked and walked in the park. |
| Vi skulle ha gått dit. | We should have gone there. |
| Jag hade tur. | I was lucky. |
| Jag arbetar (nu). | I am working (right now). |
| Jag arbetar två dagar i veckan. | I work two days a week. |
Example text[edit | edit source]
Kalles väg till arbetet
Det var morgon. Kalle gick ut på gatan. Han skulle gå vägen till arbetet. Den här vägen hade han gått många gånger förut. "När jag har arbetat klart ska jag gå hem igen.", sa Kalle. "Fast då går jag nog en annan väg!"
Kalle's way to his work.
It was morning. Kalle entered the street. He would walk the road to his work. This road he had walked many times before. "When I've finished work I will walk home again.", Kalle said. "But then I'll probably walk another route!"
Exercises[edit | edit source]
Please translate into English:
1. De har gått en annan väg.
2. Erik och Lina gick ut på puben.
3. Det var många i parken.
4. Hon har varit duktig.
5. Jag arbetade förut.
Please translate into Swedish:
6. Per, you are lucky!
7. He has another car.
8. She is exiting now.
9. Once upon a time mummy was lucky.
10. What is the meaning of this?
Glossary[edit | edit source]
| annan | another, other |
| den här/det här | this |
| då | then |
| fast | but (in spoken language) |
| förut | previously |
| att arbeta klart | to finish work |
| ett arbete | a work |
| en gata | a street |
| (att) gå | to walk |
| (att) gå dit | to walk there |
| (att) gå ut | to exit |
| (att) gå ut på | to enter [a street], to go to [the pub], to mean something |
| en gång | one time |
| (att) ha | to have |
| (att) ha tur | to be lucky |
| ett hem | a home |
| en morgon | a morning |
| nu | now |
| många | many |
| nog | probably, enough |
| när | when |
| en pub | a pub |
| (att) säga | to say |
| vad | what |
| en väg | a road, way, route |