sova is the Swedish verb "to sleep," and it is one of the first strong verbs every learner meets. Its principal parts run sova – sover – sov – sovit, with the striking feature that the past tense sov has no ending at all — it is just the bare stem. The most important thing to understand about sova is that it means to be asleep (a continuous state), which sets it apart from its close partner somna, "to fall asleep" (the single moment of dropping off).
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sova | sover | sov | sovit | sov | Group 4 (strong) |
Read the row carefully: the present sover and the imperative sov both come straight off the stem, the past sov is a vowel-stem with zero ending (not sovade — that is a beginner's instinct you must unlearn), and the supine is sovit (used after har). There is also a present participle, sovande ("sleeping," as in en sovande katt, a sleeping cat), used as an adjective.
Jag sover dåligt när det är fullmåne.
I sleep badly when there's a full moon. sover — present.
Barnen sov hela vägen hem i bilen.
The kids slept the whole way home in the car. sov — past, zero ending.
Jag har inte sovit ordentligt på en vecka.
I haven't slept properly in a week. har sovit — perfect, supine.
Use 1: present, past and perfect
The three tenses follow the principal parts directly. The present sover covers both English "sleep" and "am sleeping" — Swedish has no separate progressive form. The past sov is the bare stem. The perfect is har sovit and the pluperfect hade sovit.
Var tyst — pappa sover.
Be quiet — Dad's sleeping. Present sover covers 'sleeps' and 'is sleeping'.
Vi sov i tält hela semestern.
We slept in a tent the whole holiday. sov — simple past.
Hade du sovit innan du körde? Du ser trött ut.
Had you slept before you drove? You look tired. hade sovit — pluperfect, still the supine sovit.
Use 2: the state-vs-change pair — sova vs somna
This is the heart of the card. sova is a state: you are in the condition of being asleep, and it can last for hours. somna (Group 1: somnar – somnade – somnat) is a change of state: the single instant when you drop off. English uses "sleep" for the state and the phrase "fall asleep" for the change, but in Swedish they are two completely different verbs. Mixing them up is the single most common error here.
Jag somnade klockan elva och sov till sju.
I fell asleep at eleven and slept until seven. somnade = the moment of dropping off; sov = the hours of being asleep.
Hon sover redan — hon somnade för en timme sedan.
She's already asleep — she fell asleep an hour ago. sover (state) vs somnade (change).
Jag kan inte somna när du snarkar, så jag sover i soffan.
I can't fall asleep when you snore, so I sleep on the sofa. somna for the onset, sova for the ongoing state.
A reliable test: if you could replace the English with "be asleep," use sova; if you could replace it with "drop off / nod off," use somna.
Use 3: the particle verbs sova ut and sova över
sova takes two very common particles. sova ut means "to sleep in / catch up on sleep" — to sleep as long as your body needs, with no alarm. sova över means "to sleep over / stay the night" at someone else's place. The particle is stressed and normally follows the verb.
På lördagar älskar jag att sova ut.
On Saturdays I love to sleep in. sova ut = sleep as long as you need.
Får jag sova över hos dig i helgen?
Can I sleep over at your place this weekend? sova över = stay the night.
Efter nattskiftet sov han ut till långt in på eftermiddagen.
After the night shift he slept in until well into the afternoon. sova ut in the past: sov ut.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag sovade åtta timmar.
Incorrect — sova is strong and takes no -ade ending. The past is the zero-ending stem sov.
✅ Jag sov åtta timmar.
I slept eight hours.
❌ Jag sov klockan elva igår.
Off — this says 'I was asleep at eleven,' but for the moment of dropping off you need somna.
✅ Jag somnade klockan elva igår.
I fell asleep at eleven yesterday.
❌ Jag har sov dåligt.
Wrong form after har — you need the supine sovit, not the past sov.
✅ Jag har sovit dåligt.
I've slept badly.
❌ Jag vill sova över min vän. (intending 'sleep over at')
Wrong preposition — sova över takes hos for the host: sova över hos en vän.
✅ Jag vill sova över hos min vän.
I want to sleep over at my friend's place.
❌ Sova! (telling a child to fall asleep)
The imperative sov means 'go to sleep,' but to a child you'd usually pair it with the particle: Sov nu!
✅ Sov nu, gumman.
Go to sleep now, sweetie.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Index of Strong Verbs by PatternB1 — A navigable index of the common Swedish strong verbs, grouped by ablaut pattern rather than alphabetically — i–e–i (skriva/skrev/skrivit), i–a–u (dricka/drack/druckit), a–o–a (ta/tog/tagit), and the irregular/contracted set (gå/gick/gått). Each group is a four-part table of principal parts with English cognate hints, because organising strong verbs by shared vowel pattern turns a scary list into a few learnable families.
- Strong Verbs: Overview and Principal PartsB1 — Strong verbs (Group 4) don't add a past-tense ending — they change their stem vowel across three principal parts: skriva–skrev–skrivit. The vowel moves in recurring patterns (ablaut) that Swedish shares with English: i–a–u is the same machinery as sing–sang–sung. This page teaches you to read principal parts, recognise the classes, and leverage the English cognate vowels so memorisation becomes pattern-recognition.
- somna (to fall asleep)A2 — somna means 'to fall asleep' — the change-of-state moment of dropping off, not the lasting state. It is a regular Group 1 verb: somna – somnar – somnade – somnat, and its -na ending marks a change of state.