vänta (to wait) | Swedish Grammar

vänta means "to wait" — an everyday A1 verb that you'll use constantly. It is a fully regular Group 1 verb, so the forms hold no surprises. The one thing to nail is the preposition: you vänta på something — "wait for" — and the på is fixed. The instinct to translate "wait for" as vänta för is the classic English-speaker mistake, and avoiding it is the main job of this card.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
vänta	väntar	väntade	väntat	vänta	Group 1

Model Group 1 throughout: present väntar (stem + -r), past väntade (stem + -ade), supine väntat (stem + -at) for the perfect har väntat, and the bare stem vänta! as imperative ("Wait!"). Mind the ä — it's vänta, not vanta.

Use 1: vänta på — wait FOR

The core pattern is vänta på — "wait for." The på is a governed preposition: it is not the English "for," it is simply the preposition Swedish attaches to vänta. Whatever or whoever you're waiting for follows på.

Jag väntar på bussen.

I'm waiting for the bus. vänta på + the thing waited for.

Vi väntade på dig i en halvtimme!

We waited for you for half an hour! väntade på — the past, person after på.

Vänta på mig, jag kommer strax!

Wait for me, I'm coming! Vänta på — the imperative.

Hon har väntat på det här beskedet i veckor.

She's been waiting for this news for weeks. har väntat på — the perfect.

Use 2: vänta sig — expect

Make it reflexive — vänta sig — and the meaning shifts to "expect": to anticipate that something will happen. The reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject (jag väntar mig, hon väntar sig).

Jag väntade mig inte det svaret.

I didn't expect that answer. vänta sig — 'expect', here in the past with mig.

Man kan inte vänta sig mirakel.

You can't expect miracles. vänta sig + object.

Vi väntar oss mycket av det nya laget.

We expect a lot from the new team. väntar oss — first-person plural reflexive.

Use 3: vänta med — hold off on

vänta med means "to hold off on / put off" doing something — to wait before acting. What you're delaying follows med.

Kan vi vänta med beslutet till i morgon?

Can we hold off on the decision until tomorrow? vänta med — delay something.

vänta — the preposition trap

This is worth stating plainly: in Swedish you wait on (vänta på), never wait for (vänta för). English "for" maps to Swedish för in many phrases, so the pull toward vänta för is strong — but it is simply wrong. vänta för doesn't exist as "wait for." Burn vänta på into memory as one unit.

Jag väntar på taxin. (not *för taxin)

I'm waiting for the taxi. på, never för — the cardinal vänta error.

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The whole card comes down to one rule: vänta på = "wait for", and the på is non-negotiable. There is no *vänta för. Treat vänta på as a single inseparable chunk and you'll never make the mistake. Then keep vänta sig ("expect") and vänta med ("hold off on") as the two other senses.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jag väntar för bussen.

Incorrect — vänta governs på, not för. 'Wait for' is vänta på.

✅ Jag väntar på bussen.

I'm waiting for the bus.

❌ Vi väntde på dig. (bare -de)

Incorrect — vänta is Group 1, so the past is väntade with the full -ade, not *väntde.

✅ Vi väntade på dig.

We waited for you.

❌ Jag väntade inte det svaret. (missing reflexive)

Off — 'expect' is the reflexive vänta sig; without mig it reads as plain 'wait', which doesn't fit here.

✅ Jag väntade mig inte det svaret.

I didn't expect that answer.

❌ Jag vantar på bussen. (missing umlaut)

Spelling — the vowel is ä: väntar, not *vantar.

✅ Jag väntar på bussen.

I'm waiting for the bus.

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Conjugation is model Group 1: vänta – väntar – väntade – väntat. The two things to never forget: the ä in the spelling, and the på in the meaning — vänta på, "wait for", one word.

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