avgöra means "to decide, to determine, to settle." It is built from the prefix av- plus the verb göra ("to do, make"), and like every prefixed göra-verb it inherits the base conjugation cell by cell — including the famous silent gj-. So the past is avgjorde and the supine avgjort (the g is written but not pronounced), and the present contracts to a bare avgör, exactly mirroring göra → gör. This is not the everyday "decide" (bestämma); avgöra means to settle a question for good — to be the factor that tips the outcome.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| avgöra | avgör | avgjorde | avgjort | avgör | irregular (from göra) |
Compare bare göra – gör – gjorde – gjort: the prefix av- simply rides on top. The present is avgör (you say "avyör," never spell out an extra vowel). The past avgjorde and supine avgjort carry the gj- where the g is silent but must be written — dropping it (avgorde, avgort) is a spelling error, just as with bare göra. The participle agrees normally: en avgjord match (en-word), ett avgjort fall (ett-word), avgjorda mål (plural).
Det här provet avgör om jag kommer in på utbildningen.
This exam decides whether I get into the programme. avgör — present, contracted like göra's gör.
Domaren avgjorde matchen med en straff i sista minuten.
The referee settled the match with a penalty in the last minute. avgjorde — past, silent gj- from göra.
Rätten har ännu inte avgjort ärendet.
The court hasn't yet settled the case. har avgjort — supine, never *avgjordat or *avgorde.
Use 1: to settle / determine an outcome
avgöra is what tips a balance: a vote, a match, a court case, a single decisive fact. The subject is often the deciding factor, not a person making a free choice — that is the difference from bestämma ("decide, make up one's mind") and besluta ("resolve, decree"). Common objects: avgöra en match, ett mål, ett ärende, en fråga, en tvist.
Detaljerna avgör om designen fungerar eller inte.
The details determine whether the design works or not. avgöra — the factor that settles the outcome.
Ett enda mål avgjorde hela finalen.
A single goal decided the entire final. avgjorde — sports sense: the deciding goal.
Domstolen ska avgöra tvisten i nästa vecka.
The court is to settle the dispute next week. avgöra ett ärende / en tvist — the legal sense.
Use 2: avgöra om / vad — settling a question
A very common frame is avgöra + an indirect question (om "whether," vad "what," vem "who"). Here it means "to determine / figure out / settle" which way the answer goes.
Det är svårt att avgöra vad som är rätt här.
It's hard to determine what's right here. avgöra vad — settling an open question.
Bara tiden kan avgöra om det var ett bra beslut.
Only time can tell whether it was a good decision. avgöra om — 'tell / determine whether'.
Use 3: avgörande — decisive, crucial
The present participle avgörande is one of Swedish's most useful adjectives, meaning "decisive, crucial, critical." It is also a neuter noun, ett avgörande ("a ruling, a deciding moment"). As an adjective it does not inflect: en avgörande faktor, ett avgörande ögonblick, de avgörande timmarna.
Det blev en avgörande faktor för hela projektet.
It became a decisive factor for the whole project. avgörande — adjective, 'decisive/crucial'.
De närmaste dagarna är helt avgörande.
The next few days are absolutely critical. avgörande as a predicate adjective.
Domstolens avgörande kommer på fredag.
The court's ruling comes on Friday. ett avgörande — the noun, 'a ruling'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Målet avgjordade matchen.
Incorrect — avgöra inherits göra's irregular past: avgjorde, never a regular *-ade.
✅ Målet avgjorde matchen.
The goal decided the match.
❌ Rätten har avgort ärendet.
Spelling — the supine keeps the silent-but-written gj-: avgjort, not *avgort.
✅ Rätten har avgjort ärendet.
The court has settled the case.
❌ Provet avgörar om jag kommer in.
Wrong present — like göra it contracts to avgör, not *avgörar.
✅ Provet avgör om jag kommer in.
The exam decides whether I get in.
❌ Jag kan inte avgöra mig än. (meaning 'I can't decide')
Wrong verb — 'make up your mind' is bestämma sig; avgöra is for settling an outcome.
✅ Jag kan inte bestämma mig än.
I can't make up my mind yet.
❌ Det var ett avgörandes ögonblick.
Off — avgörande is an uninflected adjective here: ett avgörande ögonblick.
✅ Det var ett avgörande ögonblick.
It was a decisive moment.
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- Using the Verb ReferenceA2 — How to read the single-verb reference cards and the principal-parts citation system that underpins them. Every Swedish verb is cited as a short chain — infinitive – present – preteritum – supine – (past participle) — because every other form is derivable from those parts. This page decodes one weak verb (tala – talar – talade – talat) and one strong verb (skriva – skriver – skrev – skrivit – skriven), explains the conjugation-group labels (1/2/3/4), and gives a key to everything on a card.
- göra (to do, make)A1 — The verb göra means 'to do / make' — note the silent gj- in gjorde/gjort. Beyond do/make, gör is the pro-verb in echo answers (Ja, det gör jag = 'yes I do'), the only auxiliary-like use of 'do' in Swedish — there is no do-support in questions or negation.
- Prefixed (Inseparable) Verbs (förstå, bestämma)B2 — Swedish has two opposite verb-building systems: native particles that are STRESSED and split off (stå ut), and borrowed prefixes be-, för-, an-, und-, er- that are UNSTRESSED, glued on, and never separate (förstå, bestämma). Stress placement alone tells you which system a verb belongs to.