hoppa means "to jump." It is a regular Group 1 verb, so the conjugation is entirely predictable. Its real interest lies in two things: a family of useful particle verbs built on it, and a notorious trap — hoppa ("jump") sits one letter away from hoppas ("hope"), an unrelated deponent verb. Keeping them apart is one of the most useful things an English speaker can learn at this level.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hoppa | hoppar | hoppade | hoppat | hoppa | Group 1 |
The double -pp- is not an irregularity — it marks the short o vowel, which is why it survives in every form (hoppar, hoppade, hoppat). The pattern is otherwise textbook Group 1: present -r, past -ade, supine -at, imperative the bare stem (Hoppa! "Jump!").
Use 1: jumping — the literal sense
In its core sense hoppa describes a physical jump or leap. With no particle it just means "jump"; the place you jump from or to is usually added with a preposition.
Barnen hoppade i soffan tills den gick sönder.
The kids jumped on the sofa until it broke. hoppade — the regular Group 1 past.
Katten hoppar upp i fönstret varje morgon.
The cat jumps up onto the windowsill every morning. present hoppar + the particle upp.
Jag har aldrig hoppat fallskärm.
I've never done a parachute jump. har hoppat — perfect, supine hoppat after har.
Use 2: hoppa över — jump over / skip
The particle verb hoppa över is literal "jump over" — but far more often it means "skip" something: a meal, a chapter, a step, a turn. This is the everyday metaphor English shares with "skip."
Jag hoppar över frukosten när jag har bråttom.
I skip breakfast when I'm in a hurry. hoppa över = 'skip'.
Vi kan hoppa över det här kapitlet.
We can skip this chapter. hoppa över a chapter, not a literal jump.
Use 3: hoppa av and hoppa i — drop out, jump in
hoppa av is literally "jump off," but figuratively "drop out" / "quit" (a course, a project, a deal). hoppa i is "jump in" — into water, or into a task.
Hon hoppade av utbildningen efter ett år.
She dropped out of the programme after a year. hoppa av = 'drop out, quit'.
Det är varmt — vi hoppar i sjön!
It's hot — let's jump in the lake! hoppa i, the literal plunge.
hoppa vs hoppas — the trap
This is the heart of the card. hoppa ("jump") and hoppas ("hope") are different verbs. hoppas is a deponent verb — it ends in -s in every single form and never loses it: jag hoppas, jag hoppades, jag har hoppats. It is not a passive and it is not reflexive; the -s is just part of the word. hoppa, by contrast, never has an -s in its basic forms. So jag hoppar can only mean "I jump," and jag hoppas can only mean "I hope." One stray -s flips the meaning entirely.
Jag hoppas att du mår bra.
I hope you're well. hoppas — the deponent 'hope', always with -s.
Jag hoppar inte så högt som förr.
I don't jump as high as I used to. hoppar — no -s, this is 'jump'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag hoppes att det går bra.
Incorrect — 'hope' is hoppas (deponent, with -s), not a Group 2 *hoppes.
✅ Jag hoppas att det går bra.
I hope it goes well.
❌ Jag hoppas över lunchen idag.
Wrong verb — to 'skip' is hoppa över ('jump'), with no -s. hoppas means 'hope'.
✅ Jag hoppar över lunchen idag.
I'm skipping lunch today.
❌ Han hoppde ner från muren.
Incorrect — Group 1 takes -ade. The past is hoppade, not *hoppde.
✅ Han hoppade ner från muren.
He jumped down from the wall.
❌ Vi har hoppa över frågan.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine: har hoppat, not the infinitive *har hoppa.
✅ Vi har hoppat över frågan.
We've skipped the question.
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Start learning Swedish→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.
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