hinna is a verb English has no word for, and one Swedes use constantly. It means "to have (enough) time to do something" or "to make it in time." Grammatically it is a strong verb of the i–a–u class: hinna – hann – hunnit, the same vowel skeleton as finna – fann – funnit and vinna – vann – vunnit. Like a modal, it takes a bare infinitive: Hinner du komma? "Do you have time to come? / Will you make it?"
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hinna | hinner | hann | hunnit | hinn | Group 4 (strong), i–a–u |
Read the vowels across: infinitive and present keep i (hinna, hinner), the past drops to a (hann), and the supine moves to u (hunnit). The past hann is a bare vowel-changed stem with no ending — never hinnade. The perfect is har hunnit, the pluperfect hade hunnit. An agreeing participle hunnen exists but is rare; you will almost always meet hinna in the active.
Hinner du komma på mötet klockan tre?
Do you have time to come to the meeting at three? hinner — present; bare infinitive komma.
Jag hann inte äta frukost innan jag åkte.
I didn't have time to eat breakfast before I left. hann — past, vowel a, no ending.
Vi har inte hunnit packa ännu.
We haven't had time to pack yet. har hunnit — perfect, supine vowel u.
Use 1: Hinner du …? — have time to / make it
The present hinner asks or states whether there is enough time. Hinner du …? is the everyday way to ask "Do you have time to …?" or "Will you make it (in time) to …?" It takes a bare infinitive, with no att, exactly like a modal.
Hinner vi ta en kaffe innan tåget går?
Do we have time to grab a coffee before the train leaves? Bare infinitive ta.
Jag hinner ringa dig på lunchen.
I'll have time to call you at lunch. hinner + bare infinitive ringa.
Hon hinner aldrig läsa tidningen på morgonen.
She never has time to read the paper in the morning.
Use 2: Jag hann inte — I didn't make it / didn't have time
The past hann is one of the most useful words for explaining yourself. Jag hann inte means "I didn't have time / I didn't make it," and it can stand almost alone or take a bare infinitive. This is how Swedes apologise for an unfinished task or a missed deadline.
Förlåt, jag hann inte svara på ditt mejl igår.
Sorry, I didn't have time to answer your email yesterday. hann inte + bare infinitive svara.
Vi hann precis innan butiken stängde.
We made it just before the shop closed. hann used absolutely = made it in time.
Use 3: hinna med — catch (a train); keep up with
With the particle med, hinna med has two everyday senses. With a means of transport it means "catch / make" (a train, bus, flight): hinna med tåget "catch the train." With a person, task or pace it means "keep up with": hinna med i tempot "keep up with the pace."
Skynda dig, annars hinner vi inte med tåget!
Hurry up, or we won't catch the train! hinna med tåget = catch the train.
Läraren går så fort att jag inte hinner med.
The teacher goes so fast that I can't keep up. hinna med = keep up.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag hinnade inte komma.
Incorrect — hinna is strong, so there is no -ade past. The past is the vowel-changed hann.
✅ Jag hann inte komma.
I didn't have time to come.
❌ Hinner du att hjälpa mig?
Incorrect — hinna is modal-like and takes a bare infinitive, so drop the att.
✅ Hinner du hjälpa mig?
Do you have time to help me?
❌ Jag har hann äta.
Wrong perfect — after har you need the supine hunnit, not the past hann.
✅ Jag har hunnit äta.
I've had time to eat.
❌ Vi hann tåget. (intending 'we caught the train')
Missing particle — to 'catch' a train you need hinna med.
✅ Vi hann med tåget.
We caught the train.
❌ Jag hade tid att komma men kom inte. (where you mean 'I didn't make it')
Stilted — Swedish prefers the compact hinna. For 'I didn't make it / have time' say jag hann inte.
✅ Jag hann inte komma.
I didn't make it / didn't have time to come.
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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.
- Strong Pattern: i – a – u (dricka, finna)B1 — The classic Germanic class: infinitive i, past a, supine u (or o) — dricka/drack/druckit, finna/fann/funnit, binda/band/bundit, vinna/vann/vunnit, springa/sprang/sprungit, brinna/brann/brunnit. This is English drink/drank/drunk and find/found/found, so the supine's u matches the English participle. The killer error is reusing the past vowel a in the supine (*har drack).
- Modal Verbs: OverviewA2 — The Swedish modal verbs — kan, vill, ska, måste, får, bör, lär, må — all share one liberating syntax: they take a BARE infinitive with NO att (Jag kan simma, not *Jag kan att simma), and like all Swedish verbs they never agree for person. Learn one present form and you can build every modal sentence. This page maps the whole set and warns you that several modals (få, ska, må) are heavily polysemous.