Contents · A1
Tap a sentence to see its translation.
The preteritum is the Swedish simple past: it tells what happened at a time that is over. It has one form for every person; the regular groups take an ending, and the strong verbs change their vowel.
The preteritum of the regular verbs: var, hade, arbetade, läste, bodde#
Formation
The preteritum has one form for every person. Vara has var and ha has hade. The regular groups form it with an ending: group 1 adds -de to the infinitive, so the form ends in -ade (arbeta, arbetade); group 2 replaces the -a of the infinitive with -te after a voiceless consonant (k, p, s, t, x) and with -de after a voiced sound (läsa, läste; ringa, ringde); group 3 adds -dde (bo, bodde).
| arbeta | |
|---|---|
| arbetade |
| Group | Infinitive | Present | Preteritum |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | vara | är | var |
| – | ha | har | hade |
| 1 | arbeta, tala, städa | arbetar, talar, städar | arbetade, talade, städade |
| 2 (-te) | läsa, köpa, resa, hjälpa | läser, köper, reser, hjälper | läste, köpte, reste, hjälpte |
| 2 (-de) | ringa, stänga, köra | ringer, stänger, kör | ringde, stängde, körde |
| 3 | bo, tro | bor, tror | bodde, trodde |
Use
The preteritum expresses an action or a state at a time in the past that is over, usually named by a time word: i går (yesterday), i går kväll (last night), i morse (this morning), i måndags (last Monday), förra veckan (last week), för två dagar sedan (two days ago). The present is used for now and for habits, the preteritum for a finished time: I dag arbetar jag, i går arbetade jag. A time word at the front is followed by the verb: I går var Lisa i Lund. An event with no time named is usually in the perfekt, as The perfekt: har and the supinum sets out.
- I går var jag i Uppsala.Yesterday I was in Uppsala.
- Vi hade en katt när jag var liten.We had a cat when I was little.
- Karin arbetade hela dagen i lördags.Karin worked all day last Saturday.
- Jag köpte en ny jacka förra veckan.I bought a new jacket last week.
- Erik ringde i morse.Erik called this morning.
- De bodde i Lund för tre år sedan.They lived in Lund three years ago.
Difference from English
English “was” and “were” are one word in Swedish, var, also the question word “where”: Var var du? (“Where were you?”). English forms the negative and the question of the past with “did”; Swedish uses the preteritum itself: Köpte du den? (“Did you buy it?”), Jag köpte den inte (“I didn’t buy it”). Swedish has no past progressive: “I was reading” is jag läste.
Common mistakes
spelde→ speladeIn group 1 the -a of the infinitive is kept before -de.köpde→ köpteAfter a voiceless consonant, group 2 takes -te.Jag var läste.→ Jag läste.There is no past progressive with var.I går jag arbetade.→ I går arbetade jag.After a time word at the front, the verb comes second.
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.
The preteritum of strong verbs: gick, kom, åt, drack, såg#
Formation
The preteritum of a strong verb (group 4) has no ending and usually a different stem vowel; no rule predicts the change, so each strong verb is learnt with its preteritum. A few common verbs are irregular: göra has gjorde, säga has sa (in writing also sade).
| skriva | |
|---|---|
| skrev |
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum |
|---|---|---|
| gå (go, walk) | går | gick |
| komma (come) | kommer | kom |
| äta (eat) | äter | åt |
| dricka (drink) | dricker | drack |
| se (see) | ser | såg |
| få (get) | får | fick |
| skriva (write) | skriver | skrev |
| sova (sleep) | sover | sov |
| sitta (sit) | sitter | satt |
| stå (stand) | står | stod |
| ligga (lie) | ligger | låg |
| göra (do, make) | gör | gjorde |
| säga (say) | säger | sa |
- Vi gick till stranden i går.We walked to the beach yesterday.
- Lisa kom hem från jobbet sent.Lisa came home from work late.
- Jag åt en smörgås och drack te.I ate a sandwich and drank tea.
- Såg du filmen i lördags?Did you see the film last Saturday?
- Erik skrev ett mejl till mig.Erik wrote an email to me.
- Vad sa hon?What did she say?
Difference from English
English also has strong verbs with a change of vowel (“drink – drank”, “come – came”), and some correspond closely: dricka – drack, komma – kom. A Swedish strong verb never takes the regular ending.
Common mistakes
drickade→ drackA strong verb takes no -ade.skrivde→ skrevSkriva is a strong verb.gådde→ gickGå is a strong verb: its preteritum is gick.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| vara, ha | var, hade | Jag var hemma. |
| group 1 | -ade | arbetade |
| group 2 | -te (voiceless), -de (voiced) | läste, ringde |
| group 3 | -dde | bodde |
| strong verbs | vowel change, no ending | gick, kom, åt, drack, såg |
| use | a finished time, often named | I går åt vi fisk. |
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.