Common Irregular Verbs in Swedish

In Brief

Swedish irregular verbs do not build all their forms with one predictable ending, so learn their principal forms together: gå – går – gick – gått (“go – goes – went – gone”). The same verb form is used with every person: jag gick, hon gick, and vi gick. Use the preterite for a completed past event and har + supine for the perfect: Jag gick hem versus Jag har gått hem.

Overview

Some of the most useful Swedish verbs are irregular. Their stem may change vowel, as in gå – gick – gått and se – såg – sett, or they may have other special forms, as in vara – är – var – varit and göra – gör – gjorde – gjort. Traditional grammar calls many vowel-changing verbs strong verbs. That label describes how they form the past; it does not mean that every irregular verb follows the same pattern.

This topic appears at A1 because these verbs occur constantly in ordinary conversation: being somewhere, going home, seeing someone, coming late, doing something, or saying something. The helpful part is that Swedish verbs do not change according to the subject. English has I am, she is, and they are, but Swedish uses är for all three: jag är, hon är, de är.

The less helpful part is that you often cannot safely guess the past and supine forms. The supine is the special verb form used after har or hade to make compound past tenses. For example, sett is the supine of se: Jag har sett filmen (“I have seen the film”). It is best to treat the main forms as one vocabulary unit rather than learning only the infinitive.

How It Works

The four forms to learn

A practical Swedish verb entry has four principal forms:

Form	What it does	Example with gå	English guide
Infinitive	Dictionary form, often after att or a modal verb	(att) gå	(to) go
Present	Action or state now, regularly, or in the near future	går	go/goes
Preterite	A past event viewed as completed	gick	went
Supine	Used after har or hade	gått	gone in “has gone”

The infinitive marker att is similar to to in “to go,” although the two are not used in exactly all the same places. A modal verb expresses ideas such as ability, intention, or necessity. After a modal, use the infinitive without att: Jag vill gå (“I want to go”).

Core irregular verbs

Learn these high-frequency verbs first:

Infinitive	Present	Preterite	Supine	Meaning
vara	är	var	varit	be
gå	går	gick	gått	go; walk
se	ser	såg	sett	see
komma	kommer	kom	kommit	come
göra	gör	gjorde	gjort	do; make
säga	säger	sa	sagt	say; tell

Notice that irregularity can occur in different places. Komma has a regular-looking present form, kommer, but an irregular past, kom. Vara changes much more radically. Göra and säga are irregular without following the classic strong-verb pattern throughout.

One form for every subject

Swedish does not add an ending for I, you, he, or they:

Subject	Present	Preterite	Perfect
jag	jag ser	jag såg	jag har sett
du	du ser	du såg	du har sett
hon/han/hen	hon ser	hon såg	hon har sett
vi	vi ser	vi såg	vi har sett
de	de ser	de såg	de har sett

This is a major contrast with English. Do not add an English-style third-person -s or a special form after I. Once you know ser, you know the present form for every subject.

Preterite or har + supine?

Use the preterite for an event placed in a finished past time, especially with words such as igår (“yesterday”), förra veckan (“last week”), or klockan åtta (“at eight”):

• Jag såg henne igår. — I saw her yesterday.
• De kom klockan åtta. — They came at eight.

Use har + supine for the perfect, which connects a past event with the present or reports an experience without placing it in a finished past period:

• Jag har sett filmen. — I have seen the film.
• De har kommit. — They have arrived.

The English translations often provide a useful first guide, but the tense choices do not match perfectly in every context. At beginner level, focus first on the clear contrast between a stated finished time (igår såg jag) and a present result or experience (jag har sett).

The supine is not an adjective

Swedish distinguishes the supine, used with har/hade, from a past participle, a form that can describe a noun or appear in certain passive constructions. Compare:

• Hon har skrivit brevet. — She has written the letter. (skrivit, supine)
• Brevet är skrivet. — The letter is written. (skrivet, participle)

For the core verbs in this article, memorize the supine because it is needed for everyday perfect forms. You do not need to master participle agreement yet.

More useful irregular patterns

Once the core six feel familiar, these common verbs are worth learning in the same four-part format:

Infinitive	Present	Preterite	Supine	Meaning
få	får	fick	fått	get; receive; be allowed to
ta	tar	tog	tagit	take
skriva	skriver	skrev	skrivit	write
dricka	dricker	drack	druckit	drink
äta	äter	åt	ätit	eat
sitta	sitter	satt	suttit	sit; be sitting
ligga	ligger	låg	legat	lie; be located
stå	står	stod	stått	stand

Patterns can help your memory—dricka – drack – druckit has a recognizable vowel sequence—but they are not a complete prediction system. Always check and learn the actual forms.

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Jag är hemma nu.	I am at home now.	Present of vara
Vi var trötta efter resan.	We were tired after the trip.	Preterite of vara
Hon har varit i Sverige två gånger.	She has been to Sweden twice.	har + varit for experience
Jag går till jobbet varje dag.	I walk to work every day.	gå can mean go or walk
De gick hem tidigt igår.	They went home early yesterday.	Finished past time
Har du gått redan?	Have you left already?	In context, gå can mean leave
Jag ser inte skylten.	I cannot see the sign.	Present of se
Vi såg en bra film i lördags.	We saw a good film last Saturday.	Preterite with a finished time
Jag har sett henne förut.	I have seen her before.	Previous experience
När kommer bussen?	When does the bus come?	Present form used for a schedule
Han kom fem minuter för sent.	He came five minutes late.	Preterite of komma
Paketet har kommit.	The package has arrived.	Present result
Vad gör du?	What are you doing?	Swedish present can match English progressive
Jag gjorde middag åt familjen.	I made dinner for the family.	göra can mean do or make
Vad har du gjort?	What have you done?	Supine gjort
Hon säger att hon är sjuk.	She says that she is ill.	Present of säga
Han sa inget.	He said nothing.	Common preterite sa
De har sagt ja.	They have said yes.	Supine sagt

Common Mistakes

Using the infinitive after har

• Wrong: Jag har se filmen.
• Right: Jag har sett filmen.
• Why: Har requires the supine, not the infinitive. Learn se – såg – sett as a set.

Using the preterite after har

• Wrong: Hon har gick hem.
• Right: Hon har gått hem.
• Why: Gick is the standalone preterite. After har, use the supine gått.

Adding person endings

• Wrong: Han sers filmen.
• Right: Han ser filmen.
• Why: Swedish uses the same present form for every subject. English he sees has -s, but Swedish han ser does not.

Treating every past tense as regular

• Wrong: Vi gådde till stationen.
• Right: Vi gick till stationen.
• Why: You cannot make the past of gå by attaching a regular ending. Its preterite is gick.

Confusing var and varit

• Wrong: Jag har var sjuk.
• Right: Jag har varit sjuk.
• Why: Var is the preterite: Jag var sjuk igår. Varit is the supine used after har or hade.

Translating do and make as different verbs

• Wrong assumption: Swedish must always use two separate verbs because English distinguishes do and make.
• Right: Jag gör läxan (“I do the homework”) and Jag gör kaffe (“I make coffee”).
• Why: Swedish göra covers many uses of both English verbs. Learn common phrases rather than forcing a one-to-one translation.

Usage Notes

Gå is not a general translation of “go”

Gå often suggests movement on foot: Jag går till affären can mean “I walk to the shop.” For travel by a vehicle, Swedish commonly uses åka: Vi åker buss till stan (“We go/take the bus into town”). However, gå also has broader uses such as gå hem (“go home”), Hur går det? (“How is it going?”), and Tåget går klockan sex (“The train leaves at six”). Let the situation guide the meaning.

Komma can express arrival

English often uses arrive where everyday Swedish naturally uses komma: Bussen har kommit means “The bus has arrived.” The separate verb anlända also means “arrive,” but it is more formal and common in announcements or written information.

Spoken and written forms of säga

The standard preterite sa is normal in both speech and contemporary writing. You may also encounter sade, especially in more formal or older writing. Likewise, lade is a common written preterite of lägga (“put, lay”), although la is frequent in speech. As a beginner, actively use sa and recognize sade.

Swedish present covers ongoing actions

Swedish has no obligatory verb form corresponding to English am doing. Vad gör du? can mean either “What do you do?” or “What are you doing?” Context supplies the difference. Do not add an extra form of vara before the main verb: Jag är gör is not Swedish.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following details at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

The perfect and pluperfect use the same supine

The perfect uses har + supine and looks back from the present: Jag har gjort det (“I have done it”). The pluperfect—a tense that looks back from another point in the past—uses hade + supine: Jag hade gjort det innan hon kom (“I had done it before she came”). The supine itself does not change.

Word order can separate the auxiliary and supine

In a main clause, a short sentence adverb such as inte normally comes after the finite verb (the verb carrying the tense) but before the supine:

• Jag har inte sett filmen. — I have not seen the film.
• Hon hade aldrig varit där. — She had never been there.

This is why the two parts of a perfect form do not always stand next to each other.

Infinitives may appear with or without att

Use att in many infinitive phrases: Det är roligt att se dig (“It is nice to see you”). After modal verbs such as kan, vill, ska, and måste, omit it: Jag kan komma (“I can come”), not Jag kan att komma. Some verbs have their own construction, so learning a verb together with a short phrase is valuable.

Imperatives may also be irregular

The imperative is the command form. Common forms include var! (“be!”), gå! (“go!”), kom! (“come!”), se! (“look!”), gör! (“do!”), and säg! (“say!”). Notice säg, not the present form säger. Commands are useful, but their tone depends heavily on context; Swedish often softens requests with kan du ...? (“can you ...?”) or snälla (“please”).

Strong-verb families are useful, but not foolproof

As your vocabulary grows, you will notice related forms such as skriva – skrev – skrivit and driva – drev – drivit. Recognizing a family can make a new verb easier to remember. Still, similarity of spelling does not guarantee identical behavior, and compounds normally follow the principal verb: beskriva – beskrev – beskrivit follows skriva. Use patterns as memory support, not as permission to invent a form.

Practice Tips

1. Learn four forms aloud. Put a rhythm into each set: gå – går – gick – gått, se – ser – såg – sett. Then make one present, one preterite, and one perfect sentence.
2. Pair time expressions with the right form. Practice igår gick jag ... for a finished past event and jag har gått ... for an experience or present result. This trains tense choice as well as memorization.
3. Collect phrases, not isolated translations. Record useful combinations such as göra kaffe, säga hej, gå hem, and komma för sent. A phrase shows both the form and the natural Swedish meaning.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (Verb Groups) — review how Swedish present-tense verbs work and why the form stays the same for every subject.