Present and Past Perfect Tenses
In this lesson you'll learn how to use the present perfect tense (perfekt in Swedish) and the past perfect tense (pluskvamperfekt) of Swedish verbs. You'll also learn some more useful Swedish verbs
Flashcards and a quiz are included in the lesson to help you learn the Swedish present perfect and past perfect tenses.
Supine
For both the present perfect tense and the past perfect tense, the supine form of the verb is used. The supine form of the verb is created in a few different ways depending on the class of the verb.
Group 1 verbs
A majority of Swedish verbs are in this category. All verbs that add ar to the stem of the verb in the present tense are in this group. These verbs add at to the stem of the verb to form the supine. The following table shows some examples of these verbs.
| Infinitive | Present Tense | Supine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tala | talar | talat | tell |
| spela | spelar | spelat | play |
| undra | undrar | undrat | wonder |
| älska | älskar | älskat | love |
| verka | verkar | verkat | seem |
| vänta på | väntar på | väntat på | wait for |
Group 2 Verbs
The verbs in this group add er to the stem of the verb in the present tense. Note that not all verbs that end in er in the present tense are in this group. These verbs form the supine by adding t to the stem of the verb. The following table shows some examples of the supine for verbs in this group.
| Infinitive | Present Tense | Supine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| stänga | stänger | stängt | close |
| lyfta | lyfter | lyft | lift |
| behöva | behöver | behövt | need |
| trycka | trycker | tryckt | press |
| gömma | gömmer | gömt | hide |
| läsa | läser | läst | read |
Group 3 Verbs
There are only a few verbs in this group. The supine of these verbs is created by adding tt to the stem of the verb. The following table shows some examples of these verbs.
| Infinitive | Present Tense | Supine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| bo | bor | bott | live, reside |
| tro | tror | trott | believe |
| klä | klär | klätt | dress |
| nå | når | nått | reach |
Group 4 Verbs
This group contains the irregular verbs, which includes strong verbs. Strong verbs form both the past tense and the supine by modifying the vowel in the stem of the verb. Some of these verbs also add it to the end of the verb for the supine form.
The following table shows the supine of some of these verbs. See the lesson on irregular verbs for a more complete list of these verbs.
| Infinitive | Present Tense | Supine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| äta | äter | ätit | eat |
| dricka | dricker | druckit | drink |
| skriva | skriver | skrivit | write |
| ha | har | haft | have |
| vara | är | varit | be |
| gå | går | gått | go |
| se | ser | såg | sett |
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Present Perfect
While the past tense is used to talk about a single action or event that happened in the past and has completed, the present perfect tense is used to indicate that an action or event started in the past, but that action or event has not yet completed. It can also be used to indicate an action or series of actions that have happened in the past and may continue to happen.
The present perfect and past tense can sometimes be used interchangeably I can say I went to Stockholm three times, or I’ve been to Stockholm three times. The difference in meaning is very subtle.
The present perfect tense can also be used to indicate an action or event just happened or happened very recently. For example, Jag har ätit (I have eaten) can mean that I ate recently (therefore, I'm not hungry now).
The difference in meaning between the past tense and the present perfect tense can be subtle. The important thing is to be consistent.
To create the present perfect tense, the supine form of the verb is used along with the present tense of the verb ha (have).
Examples
| Vi har redan ätit middag. | We have already eaten dinner. |
| Har du någonsin varit i Norge? | Have you ever been to Norway? |
| Ja, jag har varit i Norge. | Yes, I have visisted Norway. |
| De har rest till Spanien flera gånger. | They have traveled to Spain several times. |
| Han har precis gått hem. | He's just gone home. |
| Vi har äntligen avslutat projektet. | We have finally completed the project. |
| Barnet har lärt sig att cykla. | The child has learned to ride a bike. |
| Jag har bytt jobb nyligen. | I have recently changed jobs. |
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Past Perfect
The past perfect tense is used to show that one action happened before another action. This helps to give a clear timeline to a sequence of events. The past perfect tense in Swedish is used very similarly to the past perfect tense in English.
Like the present perfect tense in Swedish, the past perfect tense is formed using the supine form of the verb along with the helper verb ha. Whereas the present perfect tense uses the present tense of ha, the past perfect uses the past tense of ha, which is hade.
Examples
| Jag hade redan ätit när de kom. | I had already eaten when they arrived. |
| Han hade glömt nycklarna, så vi kunde inte låsa upp dörren. | He had forgotten the keys, so we couldn’t unlock the door. |
| Hon hade redan läst boken innan filmen kom ut. | She had already read the book before the movie came out. |
| När jag kom fram till stationen, hade tåget redan gått. | When I arrived at the station, the train had already left. |
| Hon hade varit i Sverige innan hon flyttade dit. | She had been to Sweden before she moved there. |
| Jag hade gått till affären innan regnet började. | I had gone to the store before the rain started. |
Flashcards
Here are some flashcards to help you learn the present perfect tense and past perfect tense of Swedish verbs.
Conversations
Here is a short conversation to help you improve your conversational Swedish skills.
Swedish
Anna berättar sin vän Maja om den svåra dagen hon har haft.
Maja: Hej Anna! Hur är det med dig?
Anna: Hej Maja... ärligt talat, det har varit en jättetuff dag.
Maja: Oj då, vad har hänt?
Anna: På universitetet hade vi en presentation idag, och jag var så nervös. Jag höll på att glömma allt jag hade övat. Och sedan blev jag överraskad med ett quiz som jag inte ens visste om.
Maja: Åh nej, det låter stressigt. Hur gick det med presentationen till slut?
Anna: Det gick bättre än jag trodde, men jag kände mig fortfarande inte helt nöjd. Jag vill ju bli lärare, så jag känner att jag måste vara perfekt redan nu... Det är så mycket press.
Maja: Anna, du är redan fantastisk, och du kommer bli en jättebra lärare. Alla har dåliga dagar – det viktiga är att du lär dig och fortsätter framåt.
Anna: Tack, Maja. Det betyder mycket. Jag behövde höra det.
Maja: Alltid här för dig.
English
Anna is telling her friend Maja about the difficult day she has had.
Maja: Hi Anna! How are you?
Anna: Hi Maja... honestly, it's been a really tough day.
Maja: Oh no, what happened?
Anna: At university, we had a presentation today, and I was so nervous. I almost forgot everything I had practiced. And then I got surprised with a quiz I didn't even know about.
Maja: Oh no, that sounds stressful. How did the presentation go in the end?
Anna: It went better than I expected, but I still didn't feel completely satisfied. I want to become a teacher, so I feel like I have to be perfect already... There's so much pressure.
Maja: Anna, you're already amazing, and you're going to be a great teacher. Everyone has bad days – the important thing is that you learn and keep moving forward.
Anna: Thank you, Maja. That means a lot. I needed to hear that.
Maja: Always here for you.
Quiz
Rewrite each question so that it uses the present perfect tense.