Subjunctive Mood in Swedish

Overview

The subjunctive mood (konjunktiv) is one of the rarest grammatical forms in modern Swedish. Unlike languages such as French, Spanish, or German, where the subjunctive is actively used in everyday speech, Swedish has largely abandoned it. What remains are fossilized expressions, formal phrases, and literary remnants. You will not need to produce subjunctive forms spontaneously, but you will encounter them in set phrases, songs, formal speech, and older texts.

At the B2 level, understanding the subjunctive is about recognising these fixed expressions and appreciating their role in Swedish culture and language history. Knowing when someone says leve kungen! (long live the king!) or vare sig ... eller (whether ... or) helps you understand formal and ceremonial Swedish, as well as idiomatic everyday phrases that have subjunctive origins.

How It Works

What the Subjunctive Looks Like

The Swedish subjunctive is formed by using the verb stem (the base form without endings) or, for some verbs, the old subjunctive ending -e:

Verb	Indicative (present)	Subjunctive	Meaning
leva	lever	leve	(may ... ) live
vara	är	vare	(may ... ) be
gå	går	gånge	(may ... ) go (archaic)
komma	kommer	komme	(may ... ) come (archaic)

Fixed Expressions with the Subjunctive

These are the phrases you will actually encounter in modern Swedish:

Swedish	English	Context
Leve kungen!	Long live the king!	Toasts, ceremonies
Leve brudparet!	Long live the bride and groom!	Weddings
Vare sig ... eller	Whether ... or	Everyday conjunction
Må så vara	So be it / Be that as it may	Concessive phrase
Gud bevare oss	God preserve us	Exclamation
Leve friheten!	Long live freedom!	Toasts, speeches
Tack vare	Thanks to	Everyday preposition (from subjunctive of vara)
Vare sig du vill eller inte	Whether you want to or not	Common in both speech and writing
Så må det vara	So be it	Resignation/acceptance
Ske din vilja	Thy will be done	Religious/formal

"Vare sig ... eller" — The Most Common Survivor

This is the one subjunctive-origin expression you will use actively:

• Vare sig du gillar det eller inte, vi måste gå. (Whether you like it or not, we have to go.)
• Vare sig det regnar eller inte, matchen spelas. (Whether it rains or not, the match will be played.)

"Må" — A Subjunctive Helper

The verb må functions as a kind of subjunctive auxiliary in wishes and toasts:

• Må alla dina drömmar gå i uppfyllelse. (May all your dreams come true.)
• Må det gå dig väl. (May it go well for you.)

Historical Context

Old Swedish had a fully productive subjunctive mood used in subordinate clauses, wishes, and hypothetical statements. Over centuries, it was replaced by:

• The indicative mood in subordinate clauses
• Skulle + infinitive for hypothetical situations
• Fixed expressions for wishes and toasts

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Leve kungen!	Long live the king!	Ceremonial toast
Vare sig det stämmer eller inte, jag tror dig.	Whether it is true or not, I believe you.	Everyday usage
Må så vara, men jag håller inte med.	Be that as it may, I do not agree.	Concessive
Tack vare dig lyckades vi.	Thanks to you, we succeeded.	From subjunctive of vara
Gud bevare konungen!	God preserve the king!	Formal/historical
Leve demokratin!	Long live democracy!	Toast/speech
Må hon vila i frid.	May she rest in peace.	Wish for the deceased
Vare sig vi vinner eller förlorar spelar det ingen roll.	Whether we win or lose, it does not matter.	Common conjunction
Så vare det!	So be it!	Formal acceptance
Må det nya året bli bra!	May the new year be good!	New Year's wish

Common Mistakes

Trying to form new subjunctive expressions

• Wrong: Jag önskar att han komme snart.
• Right: Jag önskar att han kommer snart. or Jag önskar att han skulle komma snart.
• Why: The subjunctive is not productive in modern Swedish. For wishes and hypotheticals, use the indicative or skulle + infinitive. The subjunctive only survives in fixed phrases.

Misusing "vare sig" without "eller"

• Wrong: Vare sig du vill, vi måste gå.
• Right: Vare sig du vill eller inte, vi måste gå.
• Why: Vare sig always requires eller (or) to present two alternatives. It means "whether ... or," so both options must be stated.

Confusing "tack vare" with "på grund av"

• Wrong: Tack vare stormen blev vi försenade. (The storm is negative)
• Right: På grund av stormen blev vi försenade.
• Why: Tack vare has a positive connotation ("thanks to"), while på grund av is neutral or negative ("because of/due to"). Use tack vare only for good causes.

Usage Notes

The subjunctive is strongly associated with formal registers: royal ceremonies, wedding toasts, parliamentary language, religious texts, and literary prose. In everyday conversation, you will almost never need to produce a subjunctive form — but you should recognise the fixed expressions.

Regional and generational variation exists. Older speakers and speakers from more conservative dialect areas may occasionally use subjunctive-like forms, but this is increasingly rare. Some speakers use vare sig without fully realising its subjunctive origin.

In song lyrics and poetry, the subjunctive sometimes appears for stylistic effect, echoing older Swedish. The national anthem, hymns, and folk songs contain subjunctive forms.

Practice Tips

• Memorize the fixed expressions as complete units. Do not try to understand the subjunctive as a productive system — treat each phrase as vocabulary.
• Practice vare sig ... eller in different contexts. This is the one subjunctive-derived expression you will actually use regularly: Vare sig det regnar eller inte, vi åker.
• Read the lyrics of traditional Swedish songs (like Du Gamla, Du Fria) and identify subjunctive forms. This deepens your cultural knowledge while reinforcing recognition.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (Verb Groups) — Understanding regular verb forms helps you recognise how subjunctive forms differ.
• Next steps: Conditional Mood — The conditional (skulle + infinitive) has largely replaced the subjunctive for hypothetical meaning.
• Next steps: Literary and Archaic Forms — The subjunctive is part of the broader landscape of historical Swedish forms.