Chapter 7, lesson 59

Bought, Called and Read

Make the past form of many verbs that end in -er in the present, and choose -de or -te from the sound before it, as in ringde, köpte, glömde and besökte.

What you will learn

You can make the past form of many verbs that end in -er in the present, and choose between -de and -te, as in ringde and köpte.

Drop the a, then add de or te

Many verbs with -er in the present drop the a of the dictionary form in the past and add de or te. After k, p, s and t, the ending is te. After other sounds, it is de. As with the verbs in part 2, the past form is the same for every person, and it goes with time words such as i går and förra veckan.

Dictionary formPresent formPast formEnglish
ringaringerringdecall
behövabehöverbehövdeneed
svängasvängersvängdeturn
följa medföljer medföljde medcome along
glömmaglömmerglömdeforget
händahänderhändehappen
köpaköperköptebuy
läsaläserlästeread, study
åkaåkeråktego, ride
tycka omtycker omtyckte omlike
hjälpahjälperhjälptehelp
besökabesökerbesöktevisit
resareserrestetravel

Glömma and hända lose a letter. Write glömde with one m and hände with one d. Vad hände? means what happened.

Not every -er verb works like this. Äter, dricker, sover, skriver and kommer are irregular, and part 5 shows their past forms.

Examples

SwedishEnglish
Jag ringde Elin i går.I called Elin yesterday.
Vi köpte en ny soffa förra veckan.We bought a new sofa last week.
Kenji läste tidningen på tåget.Kenji read the newspaper on the train.
Tariq hjälpte Greta i köket.Tariq helped Greta in the kitchen.
Mira besökte ett museum i Lund.Mira visited a museum in Lund.
Jag glömde mobilen hemma.I forgot my phone at home.
Ida tyckte inte om filmen.Ida did not like the film.

In tyckte om, inte still goes between the two words, as in the present.

Common mistakes

Not like thisLike thisWhy
Jag köpde en tröja.Jag köpte en tröja.After p, the ending is te.
Hon ringte i går.Hon ringde i går.After ng, the ending is de.
Vi glömmde kartan.Vi glömde kartan.Glömde has one m.

Check yourself

A few questions from the Learning Path on this lesson. Answer, then check, or show the answer with its explanation.

  1. Vilken mening handlar om en händelse i dåtid?
  2. Skriv preteritum av hända.

    Vad i går?

  3. Gör meningen nekande.

    Vi tyckte om musiken.

  4. Vad frågar man med "Vad hände?"
  5. Skriv preteritum av glömma.

    Han boken på tåget.

  6. Vilket verb har en preteritumform som slutar på te?

How this lesson connects

Used later in

Learning Path

Practice and review

Practice this lesson, check your answers and review mistakes in a separate round. Track your results as you work through the course.

Lessons and vocabulary are free to read. Checking your practice access.

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