erbjuda (to offer) | Swedish Grammar

erbjuda means "to offer." It is bjuda with the inseparable prefix er- welded onto the front — and because the prefix is inseparable, the verb behaves as one inflecting unit and keeps every bit of bjuda's strong ju–ö–u ablaut: erbjuda – erbjöd – erbjudit. Where bjuda leans toward "invite" and "it's my treat," erbjuda is the colder, more formal, more commercial word — it is what a company, an employer, or a shop does. This is the verb behind every job offer, sale, and special deal you will read in Swedish.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
erbjuda	erbjuder	erbjöd	erbjudit	erbjud	Group 4 (strong), ju–ö–u

Track the vowel exactly as in bjuda: infinitive and present carry ju (erbjuda, erbjuder), the past rounds to ö (erbjöd), and the supine returns to u (erbjudit). The agreeing past participle is erbjuden / erbjudet / erbjudna ("offered"). Because er- is inseparable, it never detaches the way a particle like in or upp does — you say erbjuder ett jobb, never bjuder er ett jobb. The signature trap is identical to its parent verb's: keep the ö out of the supine. It is erbjudit, not erbjödit.

Vi erbjuder gratis frakt på alla beställningar över 500 kronor.

We offer free shipping on all orders over 500 kronor. erbjuder — present, ju.

Företaget erbjöd henne tjänsten på plats.

The company offered her the position on the spot. erbjöd — past, vowel ö.

De har erbjudit oss en bättre lösning.

They have offered us a better solution. har erbjudit — perfect, supine vowel u.

Use 1: present, past and perfect

The three tenses fall straight out of the principal parts. Present erbjuder covers "offer" and "am offering." The past is the bare vowel-changed erbjöd — note the ö. The perfect is har erbjudit; the pluperfect is hade erbjudit. There is no -ade form anywhere — that would make it a Group 1 verb, which it is not.

Banken erbjuder en lägre ränta om du binder lånet.

The bank offers a lower interest rate if you fix the loan. Present erbjuder.

Hotellet erbjöd oss ett rum med utsikt över havet.

The hotel offered us a room with a sea view. erbjöd — simple past with ö.

Vi hade redan erbjudit dem pengarna tillbaka innan de hörde av sig.

We had already offered them their money back before they got in touch. hade erbjudit — pluperfect, supine erbjudit.

Use 2: erbjuda någon något — offer someone something

erbjuda is ditransitive: it takes two objects, the person and the thing — erbjuda någon något, "offer someone something." The person comes first, the thing second, with no preposition between them, exactly as in English "offer her the job." This double-object pattern is the verb's core construction.

Chefen erbjöd mig en högre lön om jag stannade kvar.

The boss offered me a higher salary if I stayed on. erbjöd + mig (person) + en högre lön (thing).

Får jag erbjuda dig något att dricka?

May I offer you something to drink? erbjuda dig (person) + något (thing).

De erbjuder studenterna ett rabatterat pris.

They offer students a discounted price. Two objects: studenterna, then ett rabatterat pris.

Use 3: erbjuda sig — offer to do something yourself

Made reflexive, erbjuda sig (att) means "to offer / volunteer to do something" — you put yourself forward. The reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject (jag erbjuder mig, hon erbjuder sig), and an infinitive with att follows.

Han erbjöd sig att köra oss till flygplatsen.

He offered to drive us to the airport. erbjöd sig att — volunteered to.

Flera grannar har erbjudit sig att hjälpa till.

Several neighbours have offered to help out. har erbjudit sig att — perfect reflexive.

The noun: ett erbjudande

The verb's everyday noun is ett erbjudande — "an offer," and in shops "a deal" or "a special." It is a neuter -ande noun (plural erbjudanden), and you will see it plastered across every Swedish sale: veckans erbjudande ("this week's special"), ett bra erbjudande ("a good deal"). Learn the verb and the noun together — they travel as a pair.

Missa inte veckans erbjudande på färsk fisk!

Don't miss this week's special on fresh fish! ett erbjudande — the noun.

Det var ett erbjudande hon inte kunde tacka nej till.

It was an offer she couldn't turn down. ett erbjudande, the noun in full.

erbjuda vs bjuda

Both descend from the same stem, but they have drifted apart in feel. bjuda is warm and personal — invite, and treat ("it's on me"): Jag bjuder på middag. erbjuda is formal, transactional, and impersonal — offer, the verb of contracts, employers, banks, and shops: Vi erbjuder en garanti. You would never say erbjuda when picking up a friend's bill, and a company press release would never say bjuda for a product it is selling. Same ablaut, different worlds.

Grannarna bjöd oss på kaffe. (informal, personal)

The neighbours treated us to coffee. (informal, personal) — bjuda, the warm sense.

Leverantören erbjöd oss ett längre avtal. (formal, commercial)

The supplier offered us a longer contract. (formal, commercial) — erbjuda, the transactional sense.

Common Mistakes

❌ Företaget erbjudade henne jobbet.

Incorrect — erbjuda is strong and takes no -ade ending. The past is the vowel-changed erbjöd.

✅ Företaget erbjöd henne jobbet.

The company offered her the job.

❌ Vi har erbjödit dem en lösning. (ö in the supine)

Incorrect — the supine is erbjudit with u, not the past's ö. Keep ö only in erbjöd.

✅ Vi har erbjudit dem en lösning.

We have offered them a solution.

❌ Han bjöd sig att köra oss. (bjuda for 'volunteer')

Incorrect — 'offer/volunteer to do' is erbjuda sig, not bjuda sig. bjuda can't carry this sense.

✅ Han erbjöd sig att köra oss.

He offered to drive us.

❌ Vi har erbjudit en garanti till kunderna och bjudit ett bra pris.

Off — for a commercial offer use erbjuda throughout; bjuda would read as 'invite/treat.'

✅ Vi har erbjudit kunderna en garanti och ett bra pris.

We have offered the customers a guarantee and a good price.

💡

erbjuda is bjuda in a suit: it inherits the same strong ablaut (past erbjöd with ö, supine erbjudit with u — never erbjudade, never erbjödit), but it means the formal, commercial "offer." It is ditransitive — erbjuda någon något — and its noun is ett erbjudande, "an offer / a deal." Reach for bjuda when you mean "invite" or "it's my treat," and erbjuda for everything a company, employer, or shop does.

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