göra means "to do" and "to make" — Swedish does not split these into two verbs the way some languages do. It is irregular, with a notorious silent gj- in the past and supine, and it has one special grammatical role: it is the pro-verb that stands in for a whole verb phrase in echo answers (English "so do I", "yes I do"). That role is the only place Swedish uses anything like English "do" as a helper — there is no do-support in questions or negatives, so keep the two ideas firmly apart.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| göra | gör | gjorde | gjort | gör | irregular |
The present is gör ("does / is doing"). The past gjorde and supine gjort are spelled with gj-, where the g is silent — you say "yorde" and "yort," but you must write the g. Dropping it (gorde, gort) is a spelling error. The imperative is gör ("do it!").
Vad gör du i helgen?
What are you doing this weekend? gör — present, covering both 'do' and the English progressive 'are doing'.
Jag gjorde mitt bästa.
I did my best. gjorde — past with the silent gj-.
Vad har du gjort med håret?
What have you done to your hair? gjort — supine after har.
Use 1: do / make
göra covers performing an action ("do") and producing or causing something ("make"). One verb does both jobs.
Kan du göra mig en tjänst?
Can you do me a favour? göra a favour.
Hon gör en kaka till kalaset.
She's making a cake for the party. göra in the 'make / produce' sense.
Vädret gör mig på dåligt humör.
The weather puts me in a bad mood. göra + object + state = 'make someone [feel]'.
Use 2: the pro-verb in echo answers
This is göra's signature trick. When you want to agree with or echo a verb without repeating it — English "So do I," "Yes I do," "Neither did she" — Swedish slots in gör (or gjorde in the past). It is a pro-verb: it points back to the whole action just mentioned, the way it points back to a noun.
Jag gillar kanelbullar. — Det gör jag också!
I like cinnamon buns. — So do I! Det gör jag = 'I do too' — gör stands in for 'like cinnamon buns'.
Jobbar du på lördag? — Ja, det gör jag.
Are you working on Saturday? — Yes, I am. det gör jag echoes the verb jobba (work).
Hon springer varje morgon, och det gör han med.
She runs every morning, and so does he. det gör han med = 'he does too'.
Jag gjorde inte läxan. — Det gjorde inte jag heller.
I didn't do the homework. — Neither did I. Past pro-verb: det gjorde inte jag heller.
Use 3: light-verb idioms
göra anchors many fixed noun expressions. Learn these as units, and note one important boundary: a decision is not made with göra — Swedish says fatta or ta ett beslut.
Vi gör ett försök till.
We'll make one more attempt. göra ett försök = 'make an attempt'.
De gjorde slut förra veckan.
They broke up last week. göra slut = 'break up / end it'.
Har du gjort läxorna?
Have you done your homework? göra läxorna.
göra vs ta vs fatta: decisions
A frequent error is göra ett beslut on the model of English "make a decision." In Swedish a decision is taken or grasped: fatta ett beslut (more formal) or ta ett beslut (everyday). göra is wrong here.
Regeringen fattade ett viktigt beslut.
The government made an important decision. fatta ett beslut — the formal collocation.
Vi måste ta ett beslut snart.
We have to make a decision soon. ta ett beslut — the everyday version.
Common Mistakes
❌ Gör du tala svenska?
Incorrect — Swedish has no do-support. Form questions by inverting the verb itself.
✅ Talar du svenska?
Do you speak Swedish?
❌ Jag gör inte förstå.
Incorrect — negation needs no helper. Put inte after the verb.
✅ Jag förstår inte.
I don't understand.
❌ Vi gorde det igår.
Spelling — the past is gjorde, with the silent (but written) gj-.
✅ Vi gjorde det igår.
We did it yesterday.
❌ Vi måste göra ett beslut.
Wrong collocation — a decision is taken, not done: fatta/ta ett beslut.
✅ Vi måste fatta ett beslut.
We have to make a decision.
❌ Jag gillar kaffe. — Jag också gör. (botched echo)
The pro-verb pattern is fixed: det gör jag också.
✅ Jag gillar kaffe. — Det gör jag också.
I like coffee. — So do I.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Irregular High-Frequency Verbs (vara, ha, göra, veta)A1 — A handful of everyday verbs are fully irregular and must be learned one by one: vara (är/var/varit), ha (har/hade/haft), göra (gör/gjorde/gjort), veta (vet/visste/vetat), säga (säger/sade~sa/sagt), lägga (lägger/lade~la/lagt), bli (blir/blev/blivit). These seven carry a huge share of all speech, so learn them first — including the present (är, not *varar; vet, not *vetar) and the colloquial sa/la pasts that dominate spoken Swedish.
- Ellipsis and GappingC1 — Ellipsis is the systematic omission of recoverable material: gapping a shared verb (Han dricker kaffe och hon te), echoing the finite verb to answer a question (Kommer du? — Ja, det gör jag), and standing in for a whole predicate with the pro-forms det and så (Det tror jag inte). The headline contrast: Swedish has NO do-support, so 'Yes, I do' is Ja, det gör jag — an echo of the real verb or the pro-verb gör.
- Light-Verb Constructions (ta, göra, ha, fatta)B2 — Swedish builds an enormous amount of everyday talk out of a few near-empty verbs plus a meaning-carrying noun: ta en promenad ('take a walk'), göra läxorna ('do the homework'), ha rätt ('be right'). This page teaches the four core frames — ta, göra, ha, fatta — and the rule of thumb that the noun, not the verb, holds the meaning, including the trap that 'be right/wrong' is ha rätt/fel, a have-construction where English uses 'be'.
- Inserting 'Do' in Questions and NegationA1 — English builds questions and negatives with 'do/does/did' (Do you speak…? I don't understand). Swedish has no such auxiliary. Questions are made by inverting the verb (Talar du svenska?) and negatives by attaching inte (Jag förstår inte). Beginners transfer English do-support and produce *Gör du tala svenska? or *Jag gör inte förstå. This page drills the fix and shows where gör (the real verb 'do') legitimately appears.