Chapter 11 · Words That Change (Inflection)

Verb Basics: Infinitive and Present

How do I name an action and say it happens now?

3 min readUpdated 2026-07-11

This chapter introduces the form that names an action and the form that says the action happens now.

to read

I read / I am reading

How do you move from "to do something" to "someone does it"?

Infinitive

The infinitive is the dictionary-like verb form used after att and after many helper verbs.

Infinitive means the unmarked "to do" form used to name the action. Swedish att läsa corresponds to English "to read."

att läsa
att skriva
att arbeta
att bo

In this textbook, phrase patterns such as ska läsa or vill läsa are syntax. The single-token form läsa is the inflection form we track.

Present

Many regular verbs form the present with -r or -er.

arbetaarbetar

studerastuderar

läsaläser

skrivaskriver

The -era family is especially regular:

studerastuderar

reagerareagerar

planeraplanerar

The Four Verb Groups

Swedish textbooks organize verbs into four conjugation groups. A conjugation group is a family that shares present and past endings. Group 2 is divided into 2a and 2b.

Group	Infinitive	Present	What to notice
1	`tala`	`talar`	present normally ends in `-ar`
2a	`stänga`	`stänger`	present ends in `-er`; past later uses `-de`
2b	`köpa`	`köper`	present ends in `-er`; past later uses `-te`
3	`bo`	`bor`	short infinitive does not end in `-a`
4	`skriva`	`skriver`	strong verb; past normally changes the stem vowel

Groups 2a and 2b look alike in the present. Their difference becomes useful in Talking About the Past. Learn a verb as a short row rather than deciding its group from the infinitive alone.

Common Stored Present Forms

Many frequent verbs are not safe to generate from a simple ending rule. Learn them early:

Infinitive	Present
`vara`	`är`
`ha`	`har`
`bli`	`blir`
`gå`	`går`
`få`	`får`
`göra`	`gör`
`säga`	`säger`
`komma`	`kommer`
`kunna`	`kan`
`vilja`	`vill`
`ska/skola`	`ska/skall`

A Small Example

I want to read.

I am reading now.

läsa is the infinitive. läser is the present form.

Chapter summary

Form	Job	Example
infinitive	names the action; follows `att` and many helper verbs	`att läsa`, `vill läsa`
present	describes present or habitual action	`läser`
group 1	typically present `-ar`	`talar`
groups 2 and 4	often present `-er`	`köper`, `skriver`
group 3	short infinitive, present `-r`	`bo -> bor`

Practice

Study check

8 questions

1
studera
Your answer
2
läsa
Your answer
3
vara
Your answer
4
ha
Your answer
5
bo
Your answer
6
skriva
Your answer
7
Which group is stänga -> stänger -> stängde?
Your answer
8
Which group is köpa -> köper -> köpte?
Your answer

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