Svenska verb

Swedish verbs

Swedish verbs end with "-a" in their basic form (with a few exceptions like "må" ("feel"/"are"/"thrive" Hur mår du? = How are you feeling?).

Infinitive form

The infinitive is used as in English:
Jag gillar att spela fotboll.
I like to play football (soccer).

Present tense

Swedish verbs don't change to agree with person (They did 100 years ago though, so you might see it in old texts). So:
Han äter
He is eating
Vi äter
We are eating

Exempel
Examples
Jag är trött.
I am tired.
De har bara en bil.
They only have one car.
Det går bra!
It is going well. / It's OK to do so!

Jag kommer på festen på lördag.
I'll come to the party on Saturday (Note that it's the present tense that is used in Swedish as it's not you're about to do, not something that you shall, must or really are going to do.)
Jag går till skolan varje dag.
I go to the school every day.

As you see above, the -ing normally isn't used in Swedish, but it exists, and you put "ende"/"ande" and that turns the verb into an adjective or noun (sort of):

Det är mycket springande i korridorerna.
There is a lot of running in the hallways.

Du ska inte vidröra en gående motor!
You shall not touch a running engine!

Ankommande tåg
Arriving trains.

Avgående tåg
Departuring trains.

And in a lot of expression it looks like it's used as in English, and they are used like adjectives (eventhough they aren't changed to agree with the noun):
Smärtan är övergående.
The pain is passing. / The pain will pass.
Risken är överhängande.
The risk is hanging over our heads. / The risk is great.

If you want to emphase that something is going on right now, you can use "håller på och":
Jag håller på och springer nu.
I am running right now.

Preturum - past tense

If something is done, but not clearly finnished, you should use the preturum. It was called "imperfect" before.

Jag var trött.
I was tired.
De hade bara en bil.
They only had one car.
Det gick bra!
It was going well. / It went well.
Ni åt.
You (plural) were eating.

Regular verbs:
Jag hoppade 7,30 meter.
I jumped 7.30 metres.
Jag köpte en limpa.
I bought a loaf.

Perfect - another past tense

If some is done and finnished, then use this form.

Jag har varit trött.
I have been tired.
De har bara haft en bil.
They only have had one car.
Det har gått bra!
It has been going well. / It has gone well.
Hon har ätit.
She has eaten. /She has been eating.

Regular verbs:
Jag har hoppat 7,30 meter.
I have jumped 7.30 metres.
Jag har köpt en limpa.
I have bought a loaf.

Plusquamperfect - the third past tense

This is the past tense of the perfect tense, so it's the same, but "har" is replaced with "hade".

Jag hade varit trött.
I had been tired.

This can be used in two ways. Conditionally:
Jag skulle ha sovit om jag hade varit trött.
I would have slept if I had been tired.
And without condition:
Jag vaknade upp och mindes att jag hade varit trött dagen innan.
I woke up and remembered that I had been tired the day before.

Futurum

As explained above, you can often use the present tense for the future, but there are many more ways! All these forms use the infinite form of the verb:

Han ska äta.
He shall eat. / He will eat. / He must eat.
Han vill äta
He wants to eat. / He wants to be eating.
Han kommer att äta.
He is going to eat (no matter what).

Jag kommer att vara trött.
I will be tired (at that moment).

De kommer att ha bara en bil.
They will in the future only have one car.

Passive form

Passive form is used when the grammatical subject actually is the object of the action. This is created by adding -s to the verb:

Limpan äts av Kalle.
The loaf is being eaten by Kalle.
Limpan köps av Kalle.
The loaf is being bought by Kalle.
Limpan åts av Kalle.
The loaf was being eaten by Kalle.
Limpan köptes av Kalle.
The loaf was being bought by Kalle.
Limpan har ätits av Kalle.
The loaf has been eaten by Kalle.
Limpan har köpts av Kalle.
The loaf has been bought by Kalle.
Limpan ska ätas av Kalle.
The loaf shall be eaten by Kalle.
Limpan ska köpas av Kalle.
The loaf shall be bought by Kalle.





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