samla (to collect, gather) | Swedish Grammar

samla means "to collect, to gather." It is a regular Group 1 verb — samla – samlar – samlade – samlat. The thing that makes samla genuinely worth a card is its -s form, samlas: where samla (with an object) means "gather things together," samlas (no object) means "people gather / assemble." Swedish builds this intransitive sense neatly with an -s ending, and English speakers regularly miss it.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
samla	samlar	samlade	samlat	samla	Group 1

The regular Group 1 pattern: present -ar (samlar), past -ade (samlade), supine -at (samlat), imperative the bare infinitive (samla). The -s forms — samlas (present and infinitive), samlades (past), samlats (supine) — simply add -s to these.

Use 1: samla (transitive) — collect things

With a direct object, samla means to bring things together or build up a collection — stamps, points, courage, information.

Som barn samlade jag på frimärken.

As a child I collected stamps. samla på + the category collected — note the på.

Vi måste samla mer information innan vi bestämmer oss.

We need to gather more information before we decide. samla = bring together.

Han samlade mod och frågade henne.

He gathered his courage and asked her. samla mod — a fixed expression.

Jag har samlat poäng i appen hela året.

I've been collecting points in the app all year. har samlat — the perfect.

Use 2: samlas (-s form) — people gather

Add -s and the verb turns intransitive: samlas means a group comes together, assembles, meets. There is no object — the subject is the people who gather.

Vi samlas klockan nio vid ingången.

We're gathering at nine by the entrance. samlas — people assemble, no object.

Hela familjen samlades runt bordet.

The whole family gathered around the table. samlades — the past of samlas.

Folk har samlats på torget för att protestera.

People have gathered in the square to protest. har samlats — perfect of the -s form.

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The split is clean: samla takes an object (you gather things), while samlas takes no object (people gather). Vi samlar pengarna = "we collect the money"; Vi samlas = "we gather (ourselves)." If there's no thing being collected, you almost always want the -s form.

Use 3: samla in — collect / raise money

samla in means to collect something from many sources — most often money for a cause, but also signatures, donations, or returns.

Klassen samlade in pengar till en skolresa.

The class raised money for a school trip. samla in pengar = raise money.

De samlar in namnunderskrifter mot beslutet.

They're collecting signatures against the decision. samla in = gather in from many sources.

The noun: en samling

The related noun is en samling — "a collection" (of stamps, art, stories) or "a gathering" (of people). It carries both senses, just as the verb does.

Museet har en imponerande samling av modern konst.

The museum has an impressive collection of modern art. en samling = a collection.

Common Mistakes

❌ Vi samlade vid ingången. (missing -s)

Incorrect — when people assemble with no object, use the -s form: Vi samlades. Plain samlade needs a thing to collect.

✅ Vi samlades vid ingången.

We gathered by the entrance.

❌ Jag samlde frimärken. (bare -de)

Incorrect — samla is Group 1, so the past is samlade (-ade), not *samlde.

✅ Jag samlade frimärken.

I collected stamps.

❌ Klassen samlade pengar till resan.

Off — for 'raise money from people' the idiom is samla in: samlade in pengar. Plain samla suggests simply pooling money already in hand.

✅ Klassen samlade in pengar till resan.

The class raised money for the trip.

❌ Familjen samlades bordet.

Missing preposition — people gather around something: samlades runt bordet.

✅ Familjen samlades runt bordet.

The family gathered around the table.

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samla (Group 1: samlar – samlade – samlat) is transitive — you collect things (samla frimärken). The -s form samlas is intransitive — people gather (Vi samlas vid ingången). samla in pengar = raise money; the noun en samling means both "a collection" and "a gathering."

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