glömma means "to forget" — to let something slip your mind. It is a Group 2 verb with the voiced -de past, and it hides one small spelling twist worth knowing cold: the double -mm- of the infinitive simplifies to a single -m- before the past and supine endings. So it is glömde and glömt, never glömmde or glömmt. Its particle forms — glömma bort, glömma kvar — and its natural opposite komma ihåg round out everything you need.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| glömma | glömmer | glömde | glömt | glöm | Group 2 (-de) |
The present glömmer keeps both m's (Group 2 takes -er). But the moment a consonant ending arrives, Swedish refuses three consonants in a row: the -mm- drops to -m- before -de and -t. So the past is glömde and the supine is glömt. The imperative is the bare stem glöm — again a single m, because no vowel follows. This is a regular spelling rule, not an irregularity: it applies to every -mm and -nn verb (känna → kände/känt, glömma → glömde/glömt).
Use 1: glömma — forget something
In its plain sense, glömma takes a direct object — a name, a key, an appointment, a fact.
Jag glömmer alltid var jag la nycklarna.
I always forget where I put the keys. glömmer — present, both m's intact.
Hon glömde sitt paraply på tåget.
She forgot her umbrella on the train. glömde — past, the m simplifies before -de.
Förlåt, jag har glömt ditt namn.
Sorry, I've forgotten your name. har glömt — the perfect, supine glömt (one m).
Glöm inte att ta med passet!
Don't forget to bring your passport! Glöm — imperative, bare stem with a single m.
Use 2: glömma bort — forget completely
glömma bort adds the particle bort ("away") to mean forget thoroughly — to lose something from memory altogether, more emphatic than plain glömma.
Jag har helt glömt bort att vi skulle ses idag.
I completely forgot we were meeting today. glömt bort — forgotten entirely, har glömt + particle bort.
Han glömde bort sitt eget lösenord.
He clean forgot his own password. glömde bort — past, the emphatic 'forget completely'.
Use 3: glömma kvar — leave behind by mistake
glömma kvar uses the particle kvar ("remaining, left") for forgetting a physical object somewhere — leaving it behind. Where English says "I left my phone at home," Swedish says glömma kvar.
Jag glömde kvar mobilen hemma.
I left my phone at home (by mistake). glömma kvar — forgetting an object in a place.
Någon har glömt kvar sin jacka i klassrummet.
Someone has left their jacket behind in the classroom. har glömt kvar — the perfect.
The opposite: komma ihåg — remember
The natural antonym of glömma is komma ihåg ("remember," literally "come into memory"). It is worth learning as a pair: you either glömmer something or you kommer ihåg it.
Kommer du ihåg vad hon hette?
Do you remember what she was called? komma ihåg — the opposite of glömma.
Jag glömde tiden, men kom ihåg adressen.
I forgot the time, but remembered the address. glömde vs kom ihåg — the contrast in one sentence.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag har glömmt ditt namn.
Incorrect — the mm simplifies before -t. The supine is glömt, with one m.
✅ Jag har glömt ditt namn.
I've forgotten your name.
❌ Hon glömmde paraplyet.
Incorrect — before -de the mm drops to one m: glömde, not *glömmde.
✅ Hon glömde paraplyet.
She forgot the umbrella.
❌ Jag glömade min telefon.
Incorrect — glömma is Group 2, not Group 1, so there's no -ade. The past is glömde.
✅ Jag glömde min telefon.
I forgot my phone.
❌ Glömm inte passet!
Incorrect — the imperative is the bare stem with a single m: Glöm, not *Glömm.
✅ Glöm inte passet!
Don't forget the passport!
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.
- komma (to come)A1 — The verb komma means 'to come' — double m in komma/kommer/kommit but a single m in the past kom. komma is a hub: it builds the future (kommer att + infinitive) and a set of everyday particle verbs — komma ihåg (remember), komma på (think of), komma fram (arrive).