delta is the Swedish verb "to take part, participate." It is a prefixed strong verb — literally del ("part") + ta ("take") — and the whole point of the card is that it inherits the conjugation of ta. Wherever ta goes, delta follows: delta – deltog – deltagit, the same a–o–a ablaut. If you already know ta – tog – tagit, you already know delta; you just bolt the prefix del- onto the front of every form.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| delta | deltar | deltog | deltagit | delta | Group 4 (strong), a–o–a, prefixed from ta |
Read the vowels across the row and you see the ablaut of ta showing through the prefix: a in the infinitive and present (delta, deltar), o in the past (deltog), and back to a in the supine (deltagit). Compare the bare verb: ta – tar – tog – tagit. The only twist is that the present is deltar (not deltager) — modern Swedish has fully adopted the short ta-forms, so the present-tense stem is short, exactly like tar. The agreeing past participle is rare for this verb; the workhorse adjectival form is the present participle deltagande ("participating"), which also functions as a noun (see below).
Hur många deltar i kursen i höst?
How many are taking part in the course this autumn? deltar — present, vowel a, short form like tar.
Över tusen löpare deltog i loppet trots regnet.
Over a thousand runners took part in the race despite the rain. deltog — past, vowel o, exactly like tog.
Jag har deltagit i den här konferensen varje år sedan 2015.
I've taken part in this conference every year since 2015. har deltagit — perfect, supine, exactly like har tagit.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The three tenses come straight off the principal parts, and each one mirrors ta. The present deltar covers both English "take part" and "am taking part" — Swedish has no separate progressive. The past deltog is the bare vowel-changed stem. The perfect is har deltagit, the pluperfect hade deltagit — always the supine, never deltagade (that form does not exist; delta is strong, not a regular -ade verb).
Jag deltar gärna om mötet flyttas till eftermiddagen.
I'm happy to take part if the meeting is moved to the afternoon. deltar — present.
Vi deltog i demonstrationen men gick hem innan talen började.
We took part in the demonstration but went home before the speeches began. deltog — simple past.
Hade du deltagit i utbildningen hade du fått certifikatet.
Had you taken part in the training, you'd have got the certificate. hade deltagit — pluperfect, still the supine.
Use 2: delta i — "take part / participate IN"
This is the construction to drill. To participate in something, Swedish uses delta i + the thing. English speakers reach for other prepositions ("participate at the meeting," "take part of"), but in Swedish it is reliably i. The thing you take part in is normally a definite or specific activity: delta i mötet, delta i en tävling, delta i diskussionen.
Alla anställda måste delta i brandövningen på fredag.
All employees have to take part in the fire drill on Friday. delta i — participate in.
Hon vägrade delta i diskussionen eftersom tonen var så hård.
She refused to take part in the discussion because the tone was so harsh. delta i + definite noun.
Vill du delta i en tävling där förstapriset är en resa till Japan?
Do you want to take part in a competition where first prize is a trip to Japan? delta i en tävling.
Use 3: en deltagare and ett deltagande
The verb spins off two very common nouns. En deltagare (plural deltagare, unchanged) is "a participant" — the person who takes part. Ett deltagande is "participation" — the abstract act, built on the present participle deltagande. Knowing this pair lets you move smoothly between the verb and the noun phrases you actually need in writing and at work.
Konferensen hade fler deltagare i år än någonsin tidigare.
The conference had more participants this year than ever before. en deltagare → plural deltagare, unchanged.
Ditt deltagande är helt frivilligt och du kan hoppa av när som helst.
Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can drop out at any time. ett deltagande — participation.
A note on deltaga (the older variant)
You will meet deltaga — the older, longer infinitive — in formal or somewhat dated writing, with present deltager and imperative deltag. The past deltog and supine deltagit are shared, so only the infinitive and present differ. In modern speech and writing, use the short forms delta / deltar; treat deltaga / deltager as (formal) to (archaic) and recognise them rather than produce them.
Samtliga ledamöter förväntas deltaga i sammanträdet. (formal/dated)
All members are expected to attend the session. deltaga — the older long infinitive; today say delta.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hundra personer deltagade i loppet.
Incorrect — delta is strong (it's del + ta), so it takes no -ade ending. The past is deltog.
✅ Hundra personer deltog i loppet.
A hundred people took part in the race.
❌ Jag har deltog i mötet.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine deltagit, not the past deltog. Same rule as har tagit, not har tog.
✅ Jag har deltagit i mötet.
I've taken part in the meeting.
❌ Vi deltog på demonstrationen.
Wrong preposition — you take part IN something with delta i, not delta på.
✅ Vi deltog i demonstrationen.
We took part in the demonstration.
❌ Hon deltager i kursen. (intended as neutral modern Swedish)
Off-register — deltager is the older long form. In everyday modern Swedish the present is the short deltar.
✅ Hon deltar i kursen.
She's taking part in the course.
❌ Det var många deltagande på konferensen. (meaning 'participants')
Wrong noun — the person is en deltagare; deltagande is the abstract 'participation' (or the adjective 'participating').
✅ Det var många deltagare på konferensen.
There were many participants at the conference.
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Index of Strong Verbs by PatternB1 — A navigable index of the common Swedish strong verbs, grouped by ablaut pattern rather than alphabetically — i–e–i (skriva/skrev/skrivit), i–a–u (dricka/drack/druckit), a–o–a (ta/tog/tagit), and the irregular/contracted set (gå/gick/gått). Each group is a four-part table of principal parts with English cognate hints, because organising strong verbs by shared vowel pattern turns a scary list into a few learnable families.
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- 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.