berätta means "to tell" or "to narrate" — to relate a story, an event, or a piece of news. It is one of the most common verbs in everyday Swedish and a perfectly regular Group 1 verb, so once you know tala you already know how berätta conjugates. The thing worth real attention is its prepositions: in Swedish you berätta för the listener and om the subject — two prepositions that English folds into the bare verb "tell."
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| berätta | berättar | berättade | berättat | berätta | Group 1 |
Every form is built by rule. The present adds -r to the infinitive (berättar), the past adds -de to the stem (berättade), the supine ends in -at (berättat), and the imperative is the bare infinitive (Berätta! "Tell me!" / "Go on!"). The double -tt- and the å stay put through every form — there is no stem change. Stress falls on the second syllable, be-RÄTT-a, with the be- prefix unstressed.
Use 1: berätta för någon — tell someone
To name the listener, Swedish uses berätta för ("tell for"). The person who hears the story is introduced by för, not as a direct object the way English allows ("tell me").
Kan du berätta för mig vad som hände?
Can you tell me what happened? berätta för mig — the listener takes för, not a bare object.
Jag berättade för mina föräldrar om resan.
I told my parents about the trip. berättade för + person, om + topic — both prepositions in one sentence.
Har du berättat för chefen att du slutar?
Have you told the boss that you're quitting? har berättat för — the perfect, supine berättat.
Use 2: berätta om — tell about
To name the topic, Swedish uses berätta om ("tell about"). You can use om alone, or combine it with för to name listener and topic together.
Berätta om din dag — vad gjorde du?
Tell me about your day — what did you do? Berätta om + topic, imperative.
Hon berättar gärna om sin barndom i Norrland.
She happily talks about her childhood in Norrland. berättar om — present, naming the subject of the story.
Use 3: berätta + att-clause — tell that…
You can also tell someone a whole fact with an att-clause ("that…"). The clause simply follows the verb, with för + the listener slotting in before it if you name them.
Han berättade att tåget var försenat.
He said the train was delayed. berättade att — relating a fact as reported speech.
Jag måste berätta något för dig.
I have to tell you something. berätta + object (något) + för dig.
berätta vs säga vs tala om
These three overlap in English's "tell / say," but Swedish keeps them apart:
| Verb | Core sense | Typical frame |
|---|---|---|
| berätta | narrate, relate a story or news | berätta för X om Y |
| säga | say (the actual words uttered) | säga något till X |
| tala om | tell, mention, let know (a single fact) | tala om för X |
Use berätta when there is a story or an account to give. Use säga for the words themselves (Vad sa du? "What did you say?"). Use tala om for letting someone in on a single piece of information. Note that säga takes till for the listener, while berätta and tala om take för — a contrast worth memorizing as a pair.
Hon sa ingenting, men hon berättade allt med blicken. (literary)
She said nothing, but she told everything with her eyes. (literary) säga = the words, berätta = the account.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag berättade honom sanningen.
Incorrect — the listener can't be a bare object. You need för: berättade för honom.
✅ Jag berättade för honom sanningen.
I told him the truth.
❌ Berätta mig om din resa.
Incorrect — again, the listener takes för: berätta för mig.
✅ Berätta för mig om din resa.
Tell me about your trip.
❌ Jag berätte för honom.
Incorrect — berätta is Group 1, so the past is berättade, not *berätte.
✅ Jag berättade för honom.
I told him.
❌ Vad berättade du? (meaning 'what did you say?')
Off — for the words someone uttered, use säga: Vad sa du? berätta is for relating a story.
✅ Vad sa du?
What did you say?
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- 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.
- The Four Conjugation GroupsA2 — Swedish verbs sort into four conjugation classes, identified not by the present tense but by the PAST (preteritum) and supine: Group 1 (talar/talade/talat), Group 2 (ringer/ringde/ringt, köper/köpte/köpt), Group 3 (bor/bodde/bott), and Group 4, the strong verbs (skriver/skrev/skrivit) that change their vowel. Group 1 is so dominant and regular that every new and borrowed verb joins it — so treat it as the default and memorise only the closed list of strong verbs.
- Reported (Indirect) SpeechB2 — Turning someone's words into a report: the att-clause, the tense backshift in past reports (present to preteritum, perfect to pluperfect), pronoun and deixis shifts (jag to hon, här to där, imorgon to dagen efter), and the de-inversion that turns a question into a subordinate clause (var jag bodde, not var bodde jag).