Posts tagged w/ present tense

Swedish Verbs, part 2

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Sep
23
2008

A few posts back we started to discuss Swedish verbs, remember? And I told you that those verbs can be divided into two big groups: “ar” and “er”. I also mentioned that there is a third group and then promptly refused to say anything else about it.

Oh yes, that third verb group. This is the group that brings tears of definitely not joy to the eyes of Swedish learners. Why? Several reasons.

While most (almost all other) verbs have infinitive forms that end in –a, those short little guys end in whatever they like. At least it looks like that to an untrained eye. And those guys are really short. Like one syllable short. That’s the good news. The other good news is that there aren’t all that many of them. The bad news is that they’re all irregular, and sadly, you have no other choice but to memorize them all, especially since quite a few of them are very common. Like this one, for example:

  • ge = to give

“ge” is the infinitive form, and in the present tense this verb tries to masquerade as an “er” verb, clever little sod:

  • Jag ger dig pengar. = I give you money (I’m giving you money)

See what I mean? “Ge” becomes “ger” in the present tense.
Other verbs that behave as “ge” are:

  • le/ler = (to) smile
  • be/ber = (to) beg, request
  • se/ser = (to) see

Here are some other short verbs that are neither “ar” nor “er”:

  • stå = to stand
    Hon står och väntar. = She’s standing and waiting.
  • dö = to die
    Gräset dör i torkan. = The grass dies during drought.
  • bo = to live (somewhere)
    Jag bor i Sverige. = I live in Sweden.
  • få = to get, to receive
    Hon får pengar idag. = She gets money today.
  • tro = to believe, to think
    Ja, jag tror det. = Yes, I think so (reckon).
  • gå = to go
    Hur går det för dig? = How’s it going for you?
  • må = to feel (of health)
    Jag mår inte riktig bra. = I’m not feeling quite well.

Can you spot a pattern? While these are neither “ar” nor “er” verbs, turning them into their present tense forms is quite easy – just stick an “r” onto their short, little bodies. That’s the easy part. Unfortunately, that’s also the end of easy, because when it comes to their past and perfect forms, those irregular suckers you will need to memorize one by one. Let me know if you need any help!

 
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Swedish Verbs, part 1

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Sep
12
2008

Long, long time ago, I think in one of my earliest posts, I said that Swedish verbs are easier than English. And for the most part, that is indeed true. There is no goofy “–s” in the third person singular, no irregular “to be”, the auxiliary “do” is gone altogether, and “have/has” is simply “har”. Easy peasy. For the most part.

The biggest and probably most confusing difference is that in Swedish, the infinitive form of a verb (that would be the form preceded by “to” in English, the basic form you’d find in a dictionary) is actually different from the form you would use when combined with a noun or a personal pronoun.

It works like this:

  • att jobba – to work

but

  • Jag jobbar. – I work, or - I am working.

It’s fairly easy from here on – you, he, she, we, you, they – are all followed by the same form “jobbar”.
And as you can see, there is only in present tense, which could be translated as either present simple, or present continuous (the one with the –ing form) in English. It does make things a lot less complicated, wouldn’t you say?

For many, many verbs that’s all you need to do to make their present tense forms. Just stick an –r at the end of the infinitive and your work here is done.

And quite logically, such verbs are called “ar verbs”. And they are mostly nice, regular verbs in all other tenses.

There is another group, which through some very odd coincidence, for the most part (but not always) corresponds to irregular verbs in English. You know, those that get all funky in the past tense, like buy-bought-bought, for example.

Those verbs in Swedish behave like this:

  • att köpa – to buy

but

  • Jag köper. – I buy, or – I am buying.

See? Instead of tacking “r” at the end, first you remove the “a” of the infinitive, and then add “er”. Tah-dah! Done!

Again, quite logically, these verbs are called “er verbs”. And for the most part, they are nasty, irregular little suckers in the past tense.

There is a third group of short, little guys that behave in a whole different manner, and we will talk about them next time. For now, this is what you need to remember:

  • Some verbs acquire “r” at the end of their infinitive form and become “ar” verbs in the present tense. (“AR” VERBS)
  • And some verbs, FIRST drop the “a” of their infinitive form, and THEN add the ending “er” in the present tense. (“ER” VERBS)
 
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