sy (to sew) | Swedish Grammar

sy means "to sew." It is a Group 3 verb — short, with an infinitive ending in a stressed vowel — and it conjugates exactly like bo and tro: syr / sydde / sytt. It is a perfect verb for cementing the Group 3 pattern, because its doubled -dde and -tt show the short-vowel spelling rule cleanly. Unlike bo (which needs a preposition) and tro (which governs på / att), sy simply takes a direct object — you sew a thing.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
sy	syr	sydde	sytt	sy	Group 3

The vowel here is y — a sound English lacks, a tight front-rounded vowel (roughly the ee of "see" said with rounded lips). The present adds -r to it: syr. The past adds doubled -dde: sydde. The supine ends in doubled -tt: sytt. As always in Group 3, the doubled consonant marks that the vowel has gone short: long y in sy, short y in sydde and sytt — the same length rule that gives bo → bodde → bott. The imperative is the bare sy (Sy fast knappen! "Sew the button on!").

Use 1: sewing a thing — the present

The core use is sy + a direct object: you sew a garment, a button, a seam. No preposition is needed before the object.

Hon syr alla sina egna kläder.

She sews all her own clothes. syr + the direct object sina egna kläder, no preposition.

Kan du sy fast den här knappen åt mig?

Can you sew this button on for me? sy fast = 'sew on' (the particle fast means 'fixed/attached').

Jag syr för hand när jag inte orkar ta fram symaskinen.

I sew by hand when I can't be bothered to get the sewing machine out. sy för hand — 'sew by hand'.

Use 2: the past — sydde

The preteritum sydde describes a completed act of sewing.

Hon sydde sin egen klänning till studentbalen.

She sewed her own dress for the graduation ball. sydde — sy → sydde, the doubled -dde past.

Min mormor sydde gardiner till hela huset.

My grandmother sewed curtains for the whole house. A finished past project.

Use 3: the perfect — har sytt

After har you use the supine sytt (doubled -tt), never the preteritum sydde. The perfect suits experience and results that stand in the present.

Jag har aldrig sytt ett par byxor förut, så det här blir spännande.

I've never sewn a pair of trousers before, so this'll be interesting. har sytt — the perfect, supine sytt after har.

De har sytt nya kostymer till hela teatergruppen.

They've sewn new costumes for the whole theatre group. A completed result that stands now.

The whole family is worth recognising: en symaskin ("a sewing machine"), en sömmerska ("a seamstress"), en söm ("a seam"), and the related verb sömma (rarer, "to seam/hem"). The everyday verb, though, is sy. Note that sy should not be confused with the look-alike se ("to see," irregular: ser / såg / sett) — different vowel, different verb entirely.

💡

sy is Group 3 (syr / sydde / sytt), conjugating exactly like bo and tro. The doubled -dde and -tt aren't random endings — they mark the short vowel, the same rule behind bo → bodde → bott. It takes a plain direct object: you syr a thing.

Common Mistakes

❌ Hon syar sina egna kläder. (Group 1 ending)

Incorrect — sy is Group 3, with nothing to strip. The present is just sy + r: syr.

✅ Hon syr sina egna kläder.

She sews her own clothes.

❌ Hon syde sin klänning. (single d)

Incorrect — the short vowel forces a doubled consonant: the past is sydde, not *syde.

✅ Hon sydde sin klänning.

She sewed her dress.

❌ Jag har sydde ett par byxor.

Incorrect — after har you need the supine sytt, not the preteritum sydde.

✅ Jag har sytt ett par byxor.

I've sewn a pair of trousers.

❌ Jag syr på en knapp.

Off — to 'sew a button on' the natural verb-particle is sy fast (en knapp), not sy på.

✅ Jag syr fast en knapp.

I'm sewing on a button.

Now practice Swedish

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Swedish→