Imperative Mood in Swedish

In Brief

Swedish uses the imperative for commands, directions and instructions. Group 1 verbs keep -a (tala!), while many other verbs use a shorter stem (läs!, skriv!, kom!). Put inte after the imperative for a negative command (Gå inte!), and use Kan du …? or Skulle du kunna …? when a direct command would sound too strong.

Overview

The imperative mood is the verb form used to tell or encourage someone to do something. Here, “mood” means a grammatical way of presenting an action, not a feeling. Swedish imperatives appear in conversation, recipes, directions, safety warnings, signs and software instructions: Vänta! (“Wait!”), Sväng vänster (“Turn left”), and Tryck här (“Press here”).

The form itself is compact. There is normally no stated subject—the person being addressed is understood—and the same imperative can address one person or several people. Kom in! can therefore mean “Come in!” whether you are speaking to one guest or a whole group.

At B1, the main challenge is not only forming the verb but choosing an appropriate tone. English and Swedish both allow short commands, but a grammatically correct imperative can still sound abrupt in the wrong relationship. Swedish speakers commonly turn a request into a question with kan du (“can you”) or skulle du kunna (“could you”).

How It Works

Forming the imperative

A verb stem is the central part of a verb to which tense endings are added. Swedish present-tense forms often end in -ar, -er or -r. The imperative usually exposes the stem, although Group 1 retains its final -a.

Verb group	Infinitive	Present	Imperative	Practical pattern
Group 1	tala	talar	tala!	Keep the infinitive in -a
Group 1	vänta	väntar	vänta!	Keep the infinitive in -a
Group 2	läsa	läser	läs!	Use the stem without final -a
Group 2	köpa	köper	köp!	Use the stem without final -a
Group 3	bo	bor	bo!	Short vowel-ending form
Group 4	skriva	skriver	skriv!	Use the stem
Group 4	komma	kommer	kom!	Use the stem

If you already know the present tense, removing its present ending is a useful shortcut: väntar → vänta, läser → läs, skriver → skriv. For Group 1, what remains still ends in -a. This is why “all imperatives are the infinitive without att” is not a safe rule: it happens to work for tala and bo, but not for läsa → läs or skriva → skriv.

Common irregular and high-frequency forms

Some essential imperatives are best learned as complete forms.

Infinitive	Imperative	English
vara	var!	be!
ha	ha!	have!
göra	gör!	do! / make!
gå	gå!	go!
säga	säg!	say! / tell!
ge	ge!	give!
ta	ta!	take!
bli	bli!	become! / get!

Var deserves special attention because English “be” is used in many instructions: Var försiktig! (“Be careful!”) and Var tyst! (“Be quiet!”).

Sentence structure and the understood subject

A basic positive command begins with the imperative verb:

imperative + object or other information

• Läs den här boken! — Read this book!
• Tala långsammare! — Speak more slowly!
• Kom hit! — Come here!

An object is the person or thing affected by the action. In Läs boken, boken is the object: it is the thing being read. Swedish normally leaves out du or ni because the listener is obvious. This resembles ordinary English commands, which also omit “you.”

Several instructions can be linked with och (“and”) or sedan (“then”): Öppna filen och välj en bild (“Open the file and choose an image”). Each imperative has the same understood addressee.

Negative commands with inte

For a straightforward prohibition or warning, place inte after the imperative verb:

imperative + inte + rest of sentence

• Gå inte dit! — Don’t go there!
• Glöm inte nycklarna! — Don’t forget the keys!
• Rör inte spisen! — Don’t touch the stove!

This differs visibly from English, which adds “do not/don’t.” Swedish does not add an equivalent of “do”: the imperative itself remains, followed by inte. An object normally follows inte, as in Öppna inte dörren (“Don’t open the door”).

Pronouns and reflexive verbs

A reflexive verb describes an action directed back at the person doing it. Its pronoun must still be present in an imperative, even though the subject is omitted. When addressing one person, use dig; when addressing several people, use er.

One person	Several people	English
Sätt dig ner!	Sätt er ner!	Sit down!
Skynda dig!	Skynda er!	Hurry up!
Ta på dig jackan!	Ta på er jackorna!	Put on your jacket(s)!

The pronoun here is not the subject. It is part of the reflexive construction, so dropping it changes the sentence or makes it incomplete.

Direct commands and polite requests

Swedish has no special polite imperative ending. Instead, speakers choose a different sentence frame.

Pattern	Example	Typical effect
Imperative	Stäng dörren.	Direct; neutral in clear instructions, potentially abrupt as a favor
Var snäll och + imperative	Var snäll och vänta.	Explicit “please”; friendly but still directive
Kan du + infinitive	Kan du stänga dörren?	Everyday polite request
Skulle du kunna + infinitive	Skulle du kunna hjälpa mig?	More tentative or deferential
Vänligen + imperative	Vänligen vänta här.	Formal, written or service-style wording

After kan du and skulle du kunna, use the infinitive (the dictionary form), not an imperative: Kan du läsa det?, not Kan du läs det? In questions, the modal verb comes before du.

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Tala långsammare!	Speak more slowly!	Group 1 form in -a
Läs den här boken!	Read this book!	Group 2 stem
Kom hit!	Come here!	Common short form
Var snäll och vänta.	Please wait.	Polite framing
Ta nästa gata till höger.	Take the next street on the right.	Giving directions
Blanda mjöl och vatten.	Mix flour and water.	Recipe instruction
Tryck på den gröna knappen.	Press the green button.	Device instruction
Glöm inte att ringa Anna.	Don’t forget to call Anna.	inte follows the imperative
Öppna inte fönstret!	Don’t open the window!	Negative command
Sätt dig här.	Sit here.	Reflexive, one addressee
Ta på er skorna, barn.	Put on your shoes, children.	Reflexive, several addressees
Kan du sänka musiken?	Can you turn the music down?	Natural everyday request
Skulle du kunna skriva din adress här?	Could you write your address here?	More deferential request
Låt oss börja.	Let’s begin.	Inclusive suggestion
Ha en trevlig helg!	Have a nice weekend!	Wish expressed as an imperative

Common Mistakes

Keeping the infinitive -a on every verb

• Wrong: Läsa texten!
• Right: Läs texten!
• Why: Group 2 läsa uses the stem läs in the imperative. Group 1 verbs such as tala and vänta keep -a, but this does not apply to every infinitive ending in -a.

Removing -a from a Group 1 verb

• Wrong: Tal långsammare!
• Right: Tala långsammare!
• Why: The Group 1 imperative is the -a form. Compare tala–talar and vänta–väntar.

Putting inte before the verb

• Wrong: Inte gå dit!
• Right: Gå inte dit!
• Why: In an ordinary negative imperative, the command verb comes first and inte follows it. The incorrect version may be understood as a fragment, but it is not the normal full command pattern.

Adding du as if every command needed a subject

• Awkward as a neutral command: Du kom hit!
• Right: Kom hit!
• Why: The addressee is normally understood. A stated du can occur in marked or contrastive speech, but learners should omit it in an ordinary command.

Using an imperative after kan du

• Wrong: Kan du stäng dörren?
• Right: Kan du stänga dörren?
• Why: The modal kan is followed by an infinitive without att: stänga. Stäng is the standalone imperative.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

• Wrong: Skynda!
• Right: Skynda dig! / Skynda er!
• Why: Skynda sig requires a reflexive pronoun. Choose dig for one listener and er for several.

Usage Notes

Direct does not always mean rude

An imperative is natural when the situation gives the speaker a clear instructional role. Recipes, manuals, exercise classes and navigation directions routinely use forms such as tillsätt, öppna, lyft and sväng. Short warnings—Stanna! (“Stop!”), Se upp! (“Watch out!”)—must also be direct because speed matters.

The same form may feel bossy when asking a colleague, customer or stranger for a favor. Tone, relationship and context matter more than the bare grammar. Ge mig pennan (“Give me the pen”) is forceful; Kan du ge mig pennan? is an ordinary request. Skulle du kunna ge mig pennan? leaves even more room for the other person to respond.

Punctuation and intonation

An exclamation mark is common for urgent orders and warnings, but it is not required after every imperative. Recipes and calm instructions often use a period: Låt såsen koka i fem minuter. (“Let the sauce cook for five minutes.”) In speech, intonation can make the same words sound warm, neutral, impatient or angry.

Wishes and friendly formulas

Not every imperative is an order. Swedish uses imperatives in conventional good wishes:

• Ha det bra! — Take care! / Have a good one!
• Sov gott! — Sleep well!
• Krya på dig! — Get well soon!
• Välkommen in! — Welcome in! / Come in!

These are socially friendly formulas. Their function comes from context, not merely from the verb form.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Inclusive suggestions with låt oss

Swedish commonly uses låt oss + infinitive for “let’s”: Låt oss börja (“Let’s begin”) and Låt oss gå vidare (“Let’s move on”). The everyday spoken language may instead use a question or statement, such as Ska vi börja? (“Shall we start?”). Låt oss is clear and established, but can sound more deliberate or rhetorical in some conversational contexts.

Imperatives with particles

A particle verb combines a verb with a stressed short word that creates a new meaning. Keep the particle after the imperative: Kom in! (“Come in!”), Sätt på lampan! (“Turn on the lamp!”), and Stäng av mobilen! (“Turn off the phone!”). Do not treat the particle as optional: stänga av means “turn off,” while stänga alone means “close.” With a pronoun object, Swedish still keeps the particle closely tied to the verb: Stäng av den! (“Turn it off!”).

Instructions that avoid the imperative

Public notices and formal rules sometimes avoid addressing anyone directly. A sign may say Rökning förbjuden (“No smoking”), while a rule may say Dörren ska hållas stängd (“The door must be kept closed”). These are compact nominal or passive constructions, not special imperative forms. In conversation, a speaker is more likely to choose a direct command or request suited to the situation.

A stated subject for contrast

Although the subject is normally absent, Swedish can state it for contrast or emphasis: Gå du, så väntar jag här (“You go; I’ll wait here”). Here du identifies who should act, often with a reassuring or contrasting effect. This marked pattern should not be copied into every command.

Passive-looking instructions

Formal rules may avoid addressing the reader altogether and use passive or impersonal wording, for example Dörren ska hållas stängd (“The door must be kept closed”). Such wording changes the register and focus; it is not another imperative conjugation. Recognizing this helps explain why official Swedish does not always command the reader with a verb-first sentence.

Practice Tips

1. Build form sets. Take ten familiar verbs and write infinitive, present and imperative together: tala–talar–tala, läsa–läser–läs, skriva–skriver–skriv. Sorting them by verb group makes the final -a easier to predict.
2. Transform each command twice. Start with Stäng fönstret. Make it negative (Stäng inte fönstret) and then polite (Kan du stänga fönstret?). This practices both word order and the switch back to the infinitive.
3. Collect real instructions. Notice verbs in Swedish recipes, transit announcements, apps and product labels. Mark which are direct imperatives, which use vänligen, and which use an impersonal infinitive.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (Verb Groups) — knowing stems and verb groups makes imperative formation predictable.