hoppas means "to hope" — and it is a deponent s-verb: it always carries an -s, yet its meaning is completely active, never passive. It is one of the very first deponents you meet, because Jag hoppas att… ("I hope that…") is an everyday sentence. The key fact: the present tense hoppas is identical to the infinitive, and it is the same for every person — jag hoppas, du hoppas, han hoppas, vi hoppas. You never strip the -s: *jag hoppa is wrong (and hoppa, without -s, is a different verb, "to jump").
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hoppas | hoppas | hoppades | hoppats | hoppas | deponent (s-verb) |
This is a regular weak deponent — it simply carries the -s throughout. Notice that the present hoppas is exactly the same as the infinitive hoppas: there is no *hoppar, no shortening. The past hoppades and the supine hoppats (used after har/hade) both keep the -s too. And it is identical for every subject — Swedish never adds person endings, so one form, hoppas, covers "I hope," "you hope," "she hopes."
Jag hoppas att du mår bra.
I hope you're well. hoppas = present, identical to the infinitive, and active in meaning.
Vi hoppades länge på ett mirakel.
We hoped for a miracle for a long time. hoppades = past, still with -s.
Det var mer än jag hade hoppats.
It was more than I had hoped. hoppats = supine, after hade.
Use 1: hoppas att — hope that…
The most common pattern is hoppas att + a clause: you hope that something is or will be the case. In casual speech the att is often dropped, but the structure is the same.
Jag hoppas att allt löser sig.
I hope everything works out. hoppas att + clause — the bread-and-butter pattern.
Hon hoppas att tåget inte är försenat.
She hopes the train isn't delayed. Same form, hoppas, for the third person 'she'.
Hoppas (att) vi ses snart!
Hope to see you soon! A very common sign-off; att is dropped and even the subject jag can vanish — but never the -s.
Use 2: hoppas på — hope for (a thing)
When you hope for a concrete thing — a noun rather than a clause — Swedish uses hoppas på ("hope for"). The preposition på introduces the thing wished for.
Vi hoppas på fint väder i morgon.
We're hoping for nice weather tomorrow. hoppas på + a noun (the thing hoped for).
Hon hoppades på ett jobb i Stockholm.
She was hoping for a job in Stockholm. hoppades på, past tense.
Man får hoppas på det bästa.
One can only hope for the best. hoppas på det bästa — a fixed everyday expression.
Use 3: hoppas as a stand-alone reply
Because hoppas is so common, Swedes often use it almost as a one-word answer — "Det hoppas jag" ("I hope so") or just "Hoppas det!" ("Hope so!"). It carries the whole sentiment on its own.
Tror du att det blir bra? — Ja, det hoppas jag.
Do you think it'll be okay? — Yes, I hope so. det hoppas jag = 'I hope so', with det standing in for the whole idea.
Kommer hon i tid? — Hoppas det!
Will she be on time? — Hope so! A clipped, very natural reply.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag hoppa att det går bra.
Incorrect — you can't strip the -s; and 'hoppa' means 'jump'. The verb 'hope' is hoppas.
✅ Jag hoppas att det går bra.
I hope it goes well.
❌ Hon hoppar att tåget kommer.
Incorrect — there is no -ar present; the present of hoppas IS hoppas. (hoppar would mean 'jumps'.)
✅ Hon hoppas att tåget kommer.
She hopes the train comes.
❌ Vi hoppade på bättre väder.
Incorrect — the past keeps the -s: hoppades, not *hoppade.
✅ Vi hoppades på bättre väder.
We hoped for better weather.
❌ Jag hoppas för fint väder.
Off — for hoping FOR a thing, Swedish uses hoppas på, not hoppas för.
✅ Jag hoppas på fint väder.
I'm hoping for nice weather.
❌ Det var mer än jag hade hoppat.
Incorrect — the supine keeps the -s: hoppats, not *hoppat.
✅ Det var mer än jag hade hoppats.
It was more than I had hoped.
Now practice Swedish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Deponent Verbs (s-verbs That Aren't Passive)B1 — A small but extremely common set of Swedish verbs that always end in -s yet mean something fully active: hoppas ('hope'), trivas ('feel at home'), lyckas ('succeed'), minnas ('remember'), andas ('breathe'), and — most importantly — finnas, the everyday verb for 'there is'. You never strip the -s, and you use one of these constantly without realising it forms a category.
- 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.
- Existential Sentences (det finns / det är)A2 — How to say 'there is / there are' in Swedish — and why it splits into two constructions English merges into one. Det finns marks pure existence ('is there such a thing?': Det finns en lösning), while det är and presentational verbs mark located presence ('is something here right now?': Det är någon vid dörren / Det står en man där). The dummy subject is det, the real ('logical') subject follows the verb — and it must be INDEFINITE.