anta is a prefixed verb built from the particle an- plus the strong verb ta ("to take"), and the single most useful fact about it is that it inherits ta's strong conjugation wholesale: anta – antog – antagit, the a–o–a pattern, exactly parallel to ta – tog – tagit. Once you see the ta hiding inside anta, you never have to memorise its past or supine separately. The second thing to internalise is that anta carries two quite different meanings — "assume/suppose" and "accept/adopt" — and context, not form, tells them apart.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| anta | antar | antog | antagit | anta | Group 4 (strong), a–o–a (an- + ta) |
Read the vowels across the row: present antar keeps a, the past antog drops to o, and the supine antagit returns to a — the a–o–a ablaut you already know from ta – tog – tagit. The agreeing past participle is antagen (en-word), antaget (ett-word), antagna (plural/definite), and it does a lot of work in the "accept/admit" sense, as we'll see.
Jag antar att du redan har hört nyheten.
I assume you've already heard the news. antar — present, 'assume'.
Vi antog jobbet utan att tveka.
We took on the job without hesitating. antog — past, a–o–a like tog.
Riksdagen har antagit den nya lagen.
Parliament has adopted the new law. har antagit — supine, 'adopt'.
Use 1: "assume, suppose" — Jag antar att…
In its everyday sense, anta means "assume" or "suppose," and it is overwhelmingly used in the frame Jag antar att… ("I assume/suppose that…"). This is one of the most natural ways in Swedish to soften a statement into an educated guess — close to English "I guess" or "I suppose." It takes a full att-clause, not a bare noun.
Jag antar att tåget är försenat igen.
I assume the train is delayed again.
Han antog att alla redan visste om det.
He assumed everyone already knew about it.
Vi får anta det bästa tills vi vet mer.
We'll have to assume the best until we know more.
A useful nuance for English speakers: where English freely says "I assume you + verb," Swedish keeps the att-clause — Jag antar att du…, not Jag antar dig att…. The thing assumed is always a whole clause.
Use 2: "accept, adopt, take on" — anta ett förslag
The second sense is more concrete and more formal: to accept or adopt something offered. You anta en utmaning (accept a challenge), anta ett förslag (adopt a proposal), or a parliament antar en lag (passes/adopts a law). Here anta takes a direct object, and the meaning leans toward formally taking something on.
Tackar du ja? Anta utmaningen!
Are you saying yes? Take the challenge!
Styrelsen antog förslaget med stor majoritet.
The board adopted the proposal by a large majority.
Företaget har antagit en ny miljöpolicy.
The company has adopted a new environmental policy.
Use 3: bli antagen — "be admitted/accepted"
The participle antagen powers a sense every student needs: to bli antagen (or vara antagen) is to be admitted or accepted — to a university, a programme, a position. This is the standard word for getting into a school. The participle agrees: antagen (en), antaget (ett), antagna (plural).
Jag blev antagen till läkarprogrammet i Lund!
I got into the medical programme in Lund! blev antagen — was admitted.
Bara hälften av de sökande blev antagna.
Only half of the applicants were admitted. plural → antagna.
Är du redan antagen, eller väntar du på besked?
Have you already been accepted, or are you waiting to hear? vara antagen.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag antade att du visste.
Incorrect — anta is strong (it's an + ta), so it never takes -ade. The past is antog.
✅ Jag antog att du visste.
I assumed you knew.
❌ Jag har antog fel.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine antagit, not the past antog.
✅ Jag har antagit fel.
I've assumed wrong.
❌ Jag antar dig att ha rätt.
Incorrect — anta in the 'assume' sense takes an att-clause, not an object + infinitive.
✅ Jag antar att du har rätt.
I assume you're right.
❌ Jag blev antagit till universitetet.
Incorrect — in bli antagen you need the agreeing participle (antagen), not the supine antagit.
✅ Jag blev antagen till universitetet.
I was admitted to the university.
❌ Styrelsen accepterade lagen.
Understandable but off-register — for laws and proposals Swedish says anta, not the loanword acceptera.
✅ Styrelsen antog lagen.
The board adopted the law.
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