Chapter 7, lesson 60

Four Kinds of Verbs

Learn every verb as dictionary, present and past form, sort verbs into four kinds by their past form, and see why går and ser do not work like bor.

What you will learn

You can learn each verb with its dictionary, present and past forms, and tell the four kinds of verbs apart.

Three forms in a row

KindDictionary formPresent formPast form
1, past with -adejobbajobbarjobbade
2, past with -de or -teringaringerringde
2köpaköperköpte
3, short verbs with -ddeboborbodde
3måmårmådde
3trotrortrodde
4, irregulargågårgick
4sesersåg
4ätaäteråt
4kommakommerkom

Swedish verbs fall into four kinds by their past form.

  1. Verbs with -ar in the present take -ade. This is the biggest kind, and most new verbs join it.
  2. Many verbs with -er take -de or -te.
  3. Some short verbs that end in a vowel take -dde, as in bodde, mådde and trodde.
  4. Irregular verbs have a past form of their own, often with a new vowel.

Why går and ser are not like bor

Bor, går and ser are all short, but only bo takes -dde. Gå gives gick, and se gives såg. In the same way, äter and kommer end in -er like köper, but their past forms are åt and kom. The present form alone does not show the past, so learn every verb as three forms. The vocabulary page always shows all three.

Two short verbs

Må is the verb in Hur mår du? Tro means to think that something is true. In this course it is used in Jag tror det, I think so, and Jag tror inte det, I do not think so.

SwedishEnglish
Förra året bodde Ingrid i Lund.Last year Ingrid lived in Lund.
Hur mådde Ida i morse? Hon mådde bra.How was Ida this morning? She was fine.
Vi gick till parken, och sedan såg vi en film.We walked to the park, and then we watched a film.
Kommer Hugo i kväll? Jag tror det.Is Hugo coming tonight? I think so.

Common mistakes

Not like thisLike thisWhy
Jag gådde till jobbet.Jag gick till jobbet.Gå is irregular. Its past form is gick.
Hon sedde en film.Hon såg en film.Se is irregular. Its past form is såg.
Vi bode i Lund.Vi bodde i Lund.Short verbs such as bo take -dde, with two d.

Check yourself

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

  1. Vilket par följer samma mönster i preteritum?
  2. Skriv preteritum av må.

    Hur du i morse?

  3. Vilket verb har preteritum med dde, som bo och bodde?
  4. Fyll i det svenska ord som saknas. Meningen ska betyda "Elin lived in Knivsta.".

    Elin i Knivsta.

  5. De här tre verben slutar alla på er i presens. Vilket av dem är oregelbundet i preteritum?
  6. Fyll i det svenska ord som saknas. Meningen ska betyda "Ida feels well.". Använd må i presens.

    Ida bra.

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.

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