börja (to begin) | Swedish Grammar

börja means "to begin, to start" — a regular Group 1 verb. The forms come out by rule, and the pattern English speakers must internalize is the bare infinitive: in everyday Swedish you börja arbeta ("start working"), with no att between the two verbs. The opposite is sluta ("to stop, to finish").

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
börja	börjar	började	börjat	börja	Group 1

Standard Group 1: present börja + -r = börjar; past började (full -ade, with the stem börj-); supine börjat (after har); imperative Börja! ("Begin!"), the bare stem. No stem change, no subject agreement.

Use 1: börja + bare infinitive — start doing something

The most important construction: börja followed directly by a second verb in the infinitive, with no att. Jag börjar jobba ("I'm starting to work"). English says "start to work" or "start working"; Swedish drops the linking word entirely in normal speech.

Jag börjar jobba klockan åtta imorgon.

I start work at eight tomorrow. börja + bare infinitive jobba — no att.

Det började regna när vi gick ut.

It started raining when we went out. började + bare infinitive — the regular Group 1 past.

Hon har börjat lära sig spanska.

She has started learning Spanish. har börjat — the perfect, supine börjat, then the bare infinitive.

Barnen började skratta mitt i lektionen.

The children started laughing in the middle of the lesson. börja + bare infinitive in the past.

Use 2: börja med + noun — start with something

With a noun rather than a verb, the pairing is börja med ("start with"). You begin a meal med a starter, a course med the basics.

Vi börjar med en sallad och sedan huvudrätten.

We'll start with a salad and then the main course. börja med + noun.

Kursen börjar med grammatiken.

The course starts with the grammar. börja med + noun = 'start with'.

Use 3: börja med att + infinitive — begin by doing

There is also börja med att + infinitive — "begin by doing." This is not the plain "start doing" of Use 1; it frames an action as the first step in a sequence. Here the att is required.

Vi börjar med att gå igenom läxorna.

We'll begin by going through the homework. börja med att + infinitive = 'begin by doing'.

Use 4: sluta — the opposite

The everyday opposite of börja is sluta ("to stop, to finish, to quit"). Like börja, it takes a bare infinitive: sluta röka ("stop smoking"). Pairing the two helps both stick.

Han slutade röka för ett år sedan.

He stopped smoking a year ago. sluta + bare infinitive — the mirror of börja.

Jobbet börjar klockan nio och slutar klockan fem.

Work begins at nine and finishes at five. The two opposites side by side.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jag börjar att jobba.

Off in everyday speech — börja takes a bare infinitive: jag börjar jobba, no att.

✅ Jag börjar jobba.

I'm starting to work.

❌ Vi börjar en sallad.

Incorrect — with a noun you need med: vi börjar med en sallad ('start with a salad').

✅ Vi börjar med en sallad.

We'll start with a salad.

❌ Det började. (for 'it began to rain', missing verb)

Incomplete if you mean 'it started raining' — börja needs the bare infinitive: det började regna.

✅ Det började regna.

It started raining.

❌ Jag börjde klockan åtta. (bare -de)

Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade on the stem börj-. The past is började, not *börjde.

✅ Jag började klockan åtta.

I started at eight.

💡

Default to the bare infinitive: börja jobba, börja lära sig, börja regna — no att. Use börja med only with a noun (börja med en sallad), and the fuller börja med att + infinitive when you mean "begin by doing" the first step. The mirror verb is sluta, which behaves the same way.

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