klara means "to manage," "to cope," or "to pass" — the verb you reach for when something is a challenge and you (just barely) handle it. It is a regular Group 1 verb, so the forms are predictable, but its real life is in two high-value frames: klara av ("handle, get through, finish off") and the reflexive klara sig ("get by, cope, survive on one's own"). Mastering those two patterns is what makes klara genuinely useful in conversation.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| klara | klarar | klarade | klarat | klara | Group 1 |
A clean Group 1 verb, conjugating like tala. Present klarar (stem + -r), past klarade (full -ade), supine klarat (-at) after har, imperative klara (bare stem). No stem change, no subject agreement: jag klarar, vi klarar, de klarar are identical.
Klarar du det här själv, eller behöver du hjälp?
Can you manage this on your own, or do you need help? klarar — present, plain object det här.
Hon klarade provet med beröm.
She passed the exam with distinction. klarade — the Group 1 past; klara = 'pass' a test.
Vi har klarat oss igenom värre saker än så.
We've got through worse things than this. har klarat — perfect, here with the reflexive oss.
Use 1: klara + object — manage/pass something
On its own, klara takes a direct object and means "to manage" or "to pass / get through" it — a task, a test, a deadline.
Jag klarade inte tentan den här gången.
I didn't pass the exam this time. klara a test = 'pass' it; negated past here.
Tror du att vi klarar deadline?
Do you think we'll make the deadline? klara + object = 'manage / make' it.
Det klarar jag.
I can handle that. The object Det is fronted for emphasis — 'that, I can manage'.
The last example shows a very Swedish move: fronting the object (Det) before the verb, so the sentence opens with what you're confident about. Word order then puts the subject after the verb (Det klarar jag), and it lands as a punchy "I've got this."
Use 2: klara av — handle, get through, finish off
klara av is the particle-verb workhorse: to get something done, handle a difficult task, or get through a hurdle. The particle av adds a sense of completion — finishing the thing off. In the present and past the particle stays put after the verb: klarar av, klarade av.
Jag måste klara av det här innan helgen.
I have to get this done before the weekend. klara av — 'get through / finish off'.
Hon klarade av alla frågorna på tio minuter.
She got through all the questions in ten minutes. klarade av — past of the particle verb.
Har du klarat av flyttstädningen?
Have you finished the move-out cleaning? har klarat av — perfect; the particle stays after klarat.
Use 3: klara sig — get by, cope, survive on one's own
The reflexive klara sig means "to get by," "to cope," or "to be all right / survive." The reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: jag klarar mig, du klarar dig, han klarar sig, vi klarar oss. It is the natural way to ask whether someone is managing, and to reassure that everything will be fine.
Klarar du dig?
Are you OK? / Can you manage? The everyday check-in — klara sig with du → dig.
Oroa dig inte, vi klarar oss.
Don't worry, we'll be fine. klara sig with vi → oss — 'we'll manage'.
Patienten kommer att klara sig.
The patient is going to pull through. klara sig = 'survive / be all right'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Klarar du? (meaning 'are you OK?')
Incomplete — for 'are you managing / OK?' you need the reflexive: Klarar du dig? Without sig/dig it sounds unfinished.
✅ Klarar du dig?
Are you OK? / Can you manage?
❌ Vi klarar sig. (wrong reflexive)
Incorrect — the reflexive must agree with the subject. With vi it's oss: vi klarar oss.
✅ Vi klarar oss.
We'll be fine.
❌ Jag klarde provet. (bare -de)
Incorrect — klara is Group 1, so the past is klarade with full -ade, not *klarde.
✅ Jag klarade provet.
I passed the exam.
❌ Jag har klarade av det. (past for supine)
Incorrect — after har use the supine klarat, not the past klarade: har klarat av.
✅ Jag har klarat av det.
I've got it done.
❌ Jag klarade av mig. (mixing av and sig)
Incorrect — don't blend the frames. 'I got by' is jag klarade mig; 'I finished it off' is jag klarade av det.
✅ Jag klarade mig.
I got by / I was all right.
Now practice Swedish
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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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