Swedish Verbs

In this lesson you'll learn how to use verbs in Swedish. Verbs are words that describe an action, state of being, or occurrence. As in English, many common Swedish verbs are irregular.

You'll learn how to form the present, past, conditional, and future tenses of Swedish verbs. A list of common irregular verbs is also included, as well as online flashcards to help you learn them.

Introduction

Swedish verbs can be categorized as verbs that end in ar in the present tense, verbs that end in er in the present tense, and irregular verbs.

Regular Verbs

A majority of verbs in Swedish append ar to form the present tense and ade to form the past tense. The future tense is indicated by using ska with the infinitive of the verb.

att kalla	to call
kalla	imperative as in call me!
kallar	present tense
kallade	past tense
har kallat	has/have called
hade kallat	had called
ska kalla	will call
skulle kalla	would call

There are also many verbs that form the present tense by adding er and form the past by adding de.

att stänga	to close
stäng	imperative as in close it!
stänger	present tense
stängde	past tense
har stängt	has/have closed
hade stängt	had closed
ska stänga	will close
skulle stänga	would close

Irregular Verbs

Swedish has many irregular verbs. Many of these verbs are very common, so it is worth taking the time to become familiar with them. As in English, many of these verbs form the past tense by changing the vowel in the stem of the verb. See the table below for some examples of common irregular verbs.

Infinitive	Imperative	Present	Past	Present Perfect	Future	English
bita	bit	biter	bet	har bitit	ska bita	bite
bli	bli	blir	blev	har blivit	ska bli	become
dricka	drick	dricker	drack	har druckit	ska dricka	drink
finna	finn	finner	fann	funnit	ska finna	find
få	få	får	fick	har fått	ska få	get
gå	gå	går	gick	har gått	ska gå	go, walk
ge	ge	ger	gav	har gett	ska ge	give
göra	gör	gör	gjorde	gjort	ska göra	do, make
ha	ha	har	hade	har haft	ska ha	have
komma	kom	kommer	kom	har kommit	ska komma	come
kunna	-	kan	kunde	har kunnat	ska kunna	can, be able
le	le	ler	log	har lett	ska le	smile
låta	låt	låter	lät	har låtit	ska låta	let, allow
nå	nå	når	nådde	har nått	ska nå	reach
se	se	ser	såg	har sett	ska se	see
sitta	sitta	sitter	satt	har suttit	ska sitta	sitt
ske	ske	sker	skedde	har skett	ska ske	happen
sova	sov	sover	sov	har sovit	ska sova	sleep
springa	spring	springer	sprang	har sprungit	ska springa	run
säga	säg	säger	sade	har sagt	ska säga	say
sälja	sälj	säljer	sålde	har sålt	ska sälja	sell
ta	ta	tar	tog	har tagit	ska ta	take
vara	var	är	var	har varit	ska vara	be
veta	vet	vet	visste	har vetat	ska veta	know
vilja	vill	vill	ville	har velat	ska vilja	want
välja	välj	väljer	valde	har valt	ska välja	choose
äta	ät	äter	åt	har ätit	ska äta	eat

Elias swims in the lake. — Elias simmar i sjön.

Verb Flashcards

Here are some flashcards to help you learn the Swedish verbs included in this lesson.

Swedish Audio

The following is a sample of spoken Swedish from the Edgar Alan Poe poem "The Raven".

Korpen

Korpen	The Raven
Att en fågel så kan svara, hör ju till det underbara; dock, han säger ett ord bara, som han kanske övats i av en skald, vars hårda öde, förrn han lades till de döde, ville, att hans strängar ljöde till det enda ord: förbi - att hans sång, den brustna, ljöde i det enda hjärteskri: förbi, förbi!	That a bird so can answer, belongs to the wonderous; However, he says one word only, as he maybe practiced as a poet, whose hard fate, ere he was added to the dead, wanted his strings to sound the word: gone - that his song, the broken, sounded in the only heart-cry: gone, gone!

Quiz

Here is a quiz to help you learn the infinitive, present, past, and present perfect tense of Swedish verbs. Each time you take the quiz the questions will be a bit different.

Nouns Adjectives