VerbsWords of TimeAction WordsDenote activities, events and states
Conjugations
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No conjugation with different personal pronouns
| English | Swedish |
|---|---|
| I have | Jag har |
| You have | Du har |
| He has | Han har |
| She has | Hon har |
| It has | Den/Det har |
| We have | Vi har |
| You (plural) have | Ni har |
| They have | De har |
Infinitives and Imperatives
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Naming form and imperative form
| Group | Word stem | Infinitive | Imperative | Classification using stem endings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tala | tala | tala | -a |
| 2A | ring | ringa | ring | -ng, -g, -m, -n, -l, -v, -d |
| 2B | läs | läsa | läs | -k, -p, -s, -t, -x |
| 2C | kör | köra | kör | -r |
| 3 | tro | tro | tro | not -a, often monosyllabic word |
| 4 | - | be | be | irregular Verbs |
Actives and Passives
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| Active | Passive | Rule | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man läser tidningen. | Tidningen läses. | attach -s | no emphasis |
| Man läser tidningen. | Tidningen blev läser. | bli + Past Participle | emphasis on the course of the action |
| Man läser tidningen. | Tidningen är läser. | vara + Past Participle | emphasis on the result of the action |
Tenses
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| Tense | Usage | Formation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pluperfect | Past, no specific time indication | ha + Supine | Olga ha ringt Hans. |
| Preterite | Past (event completed) + often with a specific time indication | Preterite | Jag bakade igår. |
| Perfect | started in the past and can still continue | har + Supine | Peter har läst en tidning. |
| Present | when something is happening now, general statements, habits, future with time indication (tomorrow, in a year, ...) | Present | Jag läser en bok. |
| Future | future action that is quite certain to happen | ska + Infinitive | Jag ska läsa en bok. |
| future planning that is quite certain to happen | tänker + Infinitive | Jag tänker resa till Sverige. | |
| future over which there is no control (prediction, assumption) | kommer att + Infinitive | Det kommer att regna imorgon. |
Conjugations
| Group | Infinitive | Present | Preterite | Supine | Classification using stem endings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tala | talar | talade | talat | -a |
| 2A | ringa | ringer | ringde | ringt | -ng, -g, -m, -n, -l, -v, -d |
| 2B | läsa | läser | läste | läst | -k, -p, -s, -t, -x |
| 2C | köra | kör | körde | kört | -r |
| 3 | tro | tror | trodde | trott | vowel and not -a |
| 4 | be | ber | bad | bett | irregular |
Modal Verbs
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attitude towards an action is expressedExclusively irregular verbs
| English | Swedish | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| may | få | Permission, Necessity |
| can | kunna | Request, Permission, Ability, Possibility, Suggestion |
| like | må | Wish |
| must | måste | Necessity |
| should | skola | Intention, Plan, Wish |
| want | vilja | Wish |
Position in the Sentence
Before the infinitive form of a verb:
- Jag kan talar svenska.
Can also stand alone:
- Kan du svenska? Han kan svenska.