skjuta is the Swedish verb "to shoot" — and, just as importantly, "to push" or "shove." It is a strong verb of the ju–ö–u type, with principal parts skjuta – sköt – skjutit. Two surprises hide in plain sight: the past sköt rounds to ö (not the u of the infinitive, not the u of the supine), while the supine skjutit keeps u. On top of that, the spelling skj- represents the Swedish sje-sound — a single soft, breathy consonant — not an s followed by k and j. So skjuta sounds nothing like its spelling suggests to an English eye.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| skjuta | skjuter | sköt | skjutit | skjut | Group 4 (strong), ju–ö–u |
Track the vowel carefully: the infinitive and present keep ju (skjuta, skjuter), the past collapses to a bare ö (sköt), and the supine returns to u (skjutit). The signature trap is the short, vowel-only past sköt — it is not skjöt and not skjut. The agreeing past participle is skjuten / skjutet / skjutna ("shot"), used like "the shot animal" or "the deal is pushed off."
Jägaren skjuter bara om han har fritt skottfält.
The hunter only shoots if he has a clear line of fire. skjuter — present.
Polisen sköt två varningsskott i luften.
The police fired two warning shots into the air. sköt — past, vowel ö.
Ingen vet vem som har skjutit hålet i staketet.
Nobody knows who has shot the hole in the fence. har skjutit — perfect, supine vowel u.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The three tenses follow the principal parts directly. The present skjuter covers both "shoots" and "is shooting." The past sköt is a bare vowel-changed stem — note the ö and the dropped j in pronunciation flow (it is still written sk, not skj, in the past). The perfect is har skjutit; the pluperfect hade skjutit.
Målvakten sköt ut bollen ända till mittlinjen.
The goalkeeper kicked the ball all the way to the halfway line. sköt — simple past with ö (skjuta also covers a hard kick/shot in sports).
De har skjutit fyrverkerier varje nyår sedan jag var barn.
They've set off fireworks every New Year since I was a kid. har skjutit — perfect, supine skjutit.
Soldaten hade redan skjutit slut på all ammunition.
The soldier had already shot off all the ammunition. hade skjutit — pluperfect, supine skjutit.
Use 2: shoot a gun — sköt with ö
The core meaning is to fire a weapon. Here the past sköt does the heavy lifting, and it is the form learners most often get wrong, since neither the infinitive skjuta nor the supine skjutit prepares you for the lone ö. Store the chant skjuta, sköt, skjutit and let the ö sit only in the middle.
Vem var det som sköt mitt i natten?
Who was it that fired in the middle of the night? sköt — the ö in the past.
Han siktade länge men sköt till slut bredvid.
He aimed for a long time but in the end shot wide. sköt again — keep the ö.
Use 3: push, shove — and skjuta upp ('postpone')
The very same verb means "push" or "shove": skjuta på is "push (on something)," and skjuta undan is "push aside." Most usefully, the particle verb skjuta upp means "to postpone, put off" — and, in a rocketry context, "to launch." Same principal parts throughout: skjuta upp – sköt upp – skjutit upp.
Kan du skjuta på dörren? Den har fastnat.
Can you push the door? It's stuck. skjuta på — push on something.
Vi måste tyvärr skjuta upp mötet till på fredag.
Unfortunately we have to postpone the meeting until Friday. skjuta upp — postpone.
De sköt upp raketen klockan sju på morgonen.
They launched the rocket at seven in the morning. sköt upp — past, here 'launch'.
Jag har skjutit upp tandläkarbesöket alldeles för länge.
I've put off the dentist appointment far too long. har skjutit upp — supine skjutit.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jägaren skjutade en älg.
Incorrect — skjuta is strong and takes no -ade ending. The past is the vowel-changed sköt.
✅ Jägaren sköt en älg.
The hunter shot a moose.
❌ Polisen har sköt i luften.
Incorrect — after har you need the supine skjutit, not the past sköt.
✅ Polisen har skjutit i luften.
The police have fired into the air.
❌ De skjöt två skott. (over-applying skj to the past)
Incorrect — the past drops to a bare sköt, not skjöt. The skj- spelling belongs to the infinitive and present, not the ö-past.
✅ De sköt två skott.
They fired two shots.
❌ Vi har skjötit upp mötet. (mixing past ö into the supine)
Incorrect — the supine is skjutit with u, not the past's ö.
✅ Vi har skjutit upp mötet.
We've postponed the meeting.
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