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Grammar
The Swedish verb has quite a few tenses. But these are, like with English, created by the help of auxiliary verbs. (N.B. Swedish does not change the verb depending on which grammatical person acts).
The regular verb arbeta
Regular endings are made bold.
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| Tense | English | Swedish | Form of verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | To work | (Att) arbeta | Infinitiv |
| Present Tense | I work | Jag arbetar | Infinitiv + "r" |
| Past Tense, Imperfect Aspekt | I worked | Jag arbetade | Preteritum |
| Past Tense, Perfect Aspekt | I have worked | Jag har arbetat | Har + Supinum |
| Future Tense, Futurum Simplex | I will work | Jag ska arbeta | Ska + Infinitiv |
The irregular verb gå
| Tense | English | Swedish |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | To walk | (Att) gå |
| Present Tense | I walk | Jag går |
| Past Tense, Imperfect Aspekt | I walked | Jag gick |
| Past Tense, Perfect Aspekt | I have walked | Jag har gått |
| Future Tense, Futurum Simplex | I will walk | Jag ska gå |
The irregular verbs vara, ha and ska/skulle are used in complex verb tenses in much the same way as be, have, will/would are used in English.
vara
| (att) vara | to be |
| jag var | I was |
| jag har varit | I have been |
| jag är | I am |
ha
| (att) ha | to have |
| jag hade | I had |
| jag har haft | I have had |
| jag har | I have |
ska & skulle
| jag ska | I will |
| jag skulle | I would |
Past tense, imperfect aspekt of the verb arbeta:
| jag arbetade | I worked |
| du arbetade | you worked |
| han arbetade | he worked |
| hon arbetade | she worked |
| den arbetade | it worked |
| det arbetade | it worked |
| man arbetade | you worked |
| vi arbetade | we worked |
| ni arbetade | you worked |
| de arbetade | they worked |
Really simple and similar in both languages!
Example sentences
| Jag arbetade igår. | I worked yesterday. |
| Det har gått ett år. | One year has passed. |
| Ni ska arbeta i morgon. | You will work tomorrow. |
| De gick och arbetade i parken. | They went for work in the park. or They went and worked in the park. (i.e They walked {which is what "went" infers in the english} and worked in the park.) |
| De arbetade och gick i parken. | They worked and walked in the park. |
| Vi skulle ha gått dit. | We should have gone there. |
| Jag hade tur. | I was lucky. |
| Jag arbetar (nu). | I am working. |
| Jag arbetar två dagar i veckan. | I work two days a week. |
Example Text
Kalles väg till arbetet
Det var morgon. Kalle gick ut på gatan. Han skulle gå vägen till arbetet. Den här vägen hade han gått många gånger förut. "När jag har arbetat klart ska jag gå hem igen.", sa Kalle. "Fast då går jag nog en annan väg!"
Kalle's way to his work.
It was morning. Kalle entered the street. He would walk the road to his work. This road he had walked many times before. "When I've finished work I will walk home again.", Kalle said. "But then I'll probably walk another route!"
Exercises
Please translate into English:
1. De har gått en annan väg.
2. Erik och Lina gick ut på puben.
3. Det var många i parken.
4. Hon har varit duktig.
5. Jag arbetade förut.
Please translate into Swedish:
6. Per, you are lucky!
7. He has another car.
8. She is exiting now.
9. Once upon a time mummy was lucky.
10. What is the meaning of this?
Glossary
| annan | another, other |
| den här/det här | this |
| då | then |
| fast | but (in spoken language) |
| förut | previously |
| att arbeta klart | to finish work |
| ett arbete | a work |
| en gata | a street |
| (att) gå | to walk |
| (att) gå dit | to walk there |
| (att) gå ut | to exit |
| (att) gå ut på | to enter [a street], to go to [the pub], to mean something |
| en gång | one time |
| (att) ha | to have |
| (att) ha tur | to be lucky |
| ett hem | a home |
| en morgon | a morning |
| nu | now |
| många | many |
| nog | probably, enough |
| när | when |
| en pub | a pub |
| (att) säga | to say |
| vad | what |
| en väg | a road, way, route |