Swedish Verbs for Beginners

Learning verbs is an essential part of mastering any language. In Swedish, verbs are relatively straightforward to understand and conjugate. This blog post will introduce you to some of the most commonly used Swedish verbs, along with examples to help you start using them in your everyday conversations.

Basic Verb Conjugation

In Swedish, verbs are conjugated based on the tense and the subject. Here are the basic tenses you need to know:

  • Present Tense: Describes actions that are currently happening or general truths.
  • Past Tense: Describes actions that have already happened.
  • Future Tense: Describes actions that will happen.

Commonly Used Swedish Verbs

Let’s look at some of the most commonly used Swedish verbs and their conjugations in the present tense.

1. Att vara (To be)

  • Jag är (I am)
  • Du är (You are)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det är (He/She/It is)
  • Vi är (We are)
  • Ni är (You [plural] are)
  • De är (They are)

Example: Jag är student. (I am a student.)

2. Att ha (To have)

  • Jag har (I have)
  • Du har (You have)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det har (He/She/It has)
  • Vi har (We have)
  • Ni har (You [plural] have)
  • De har (They have)

Example: Vi har en katt. (We have a cat.)

3. Att göra (To do)

  • Jag gör (I do)
  • Du gör (You do)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det gör (He/She/It does)
  • Vi gör (We do)
  • Ni gör (You [plural] do)
  • De gör (They do)

Example: Vad gör du? (What are you doing?)

4. Att säga (To say)

  • Jag säger (I say)
  • Du säger (You say)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det säger (He/She/It says)
  • Vi säger (We say)
  • Ni säger (You [plural] say)
  • De säger (They say)

Example: Jag säger hej. (I say hello.)

5. Att gå (To go)

  • Jag går (I go)
  • Du går (You go)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det går (He/She/It goes)
  • Vi går (We go)
  • Ni går (You [plural] go)
  • De går (They go)

Example: Vi går till skolan. (We go to school.)

6. Att komma (To come)

  • Jag kommer (I come)
  • Du kommer (You come)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det kommer (He/She/It comes)
  • Vi kommer (We come)
  • Ni kommer (You [plural] come)
  • De kommer (They come)

Example: Han kommer snart. (He is coming soon.)

7. Att äta (To eat)

  • Jag äter (I eat)
  • Du äter (You eat)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det äter (He/She/It eats)
  • Vi äter (We eat)
  • Ni äter (You [plural] eat)
  • De äter (They eat)

Example: Vi äter frukost. (We are eating breakfast.)

8. Att dricka (To drink)

  • Jag dricker (I drink)
  • Du dricker (You drink)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det dricker (He/She/It drinks)
  • Vi dricker (We drink)
  • Ni dricker (You [plural] drink)
  • De dricker (They drink)

Example: Hon dricker vatten. (She is drinking water.)

9. Att sova (To sleep)

  • Jag sover (I sleep)
  • Du sover (You sleep)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det sover (He/She/It sleeps)
  • Vi sover (We sleep)
  • Ni sover (You [plural] sleep)
  • De sover (They sleep)

Example: Barnen sover. (The children are sleeping.)

10. Att skriva (To write)

  • Jag skriver (I write)
  • Du skriver (You write)
  • Han/Hon/Den/Det skriver (He/She/It writes)
  • Vi skriver (We write)
  • Ni skriver (You [plural] write)
  • De skriver (They write)

Example: Jag skriver en bok. (I am writing a book.)

Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to learn and remember these verbs is to practice using them in sentences. Try to incorporate these verbs into your daily conversations and write simple sentences using them. With time and practice, you’ll become more comfortable with Swedish verbs and improve your overall language skills.

Happy learning!

Br, Priyanka :)