The imperative is how you tell someone to do something — Come here! Read this! Wait! In many languages this is a tricky special form, but Swedish keeps it strikingly simple: the imperative is just the bare stem of the verb. The only thing you need to know is what each verb's stem is, and that is decided by which conjugation group the verb belongs to. The one place English speakers stumble is assuming the imperative equals the infinitive — it does, but only for Group 1. For the other groups the imperative is shorter than the infinitive. Get that, and you've got the whole form.
The imperative is the bare stem
Every Swedish verb has a stem — the core you build all its forms on. The imperative is simply that stem, with nothing added. What changes from group to group is only how much, if anything, you strip off the infinitive to reach the stem.
| Group | Infinitive | Imperative (stem) | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tala (speak) | tala! | same as infinitive |
| 2 | köpa (buy) | köp! | drop the -a |
| 2 | läsa (read) | läs! | drop the -a |
| 4 (strong) | springa (run) | spring! | drop the -a |
| 4 (strong) | skriva (write) | skriv! | drop the -a |
| 3 (short) | gå (go) | gå! | already bare — no -a to drop |
| 3 (short) | tro (believe) | tro! | already bare |
So the rule has two faces:
- Group 1 verbs end in -a in the infinitive and that -a is part of the stem — so the imperative looks identical to the infinitive: tala!, titta!, fråga!.
- Groups 2, 3, and 4 add their endings to a stem that does not include that final -a — so the imperative strips it: köp!, skriv!, gå!.
Tala långsammare, är du snäll!
Speak more slowly, please! Group 1 — imperative 'tala' is the same as the infinitive.
Köp mjölk på vägen hem.
Buy milk on the way home. Group 2 — imperative 'köp', NOT 'köpa' and NOT 'köper'.
Skriv ditt namn här, tack.
Write your name here, please. Group 4 (strong) — 'skriv', the bare stem (skriva → skriver → skriv!).
Gå hem och vila lite!
Go home and rest a bit! Group 3 short verb — 'gå' is already the bare stem.
How to find the stem reliably
If you're unsure of a verb's stem, there's a foolproof shortcut: the imperative for Groups 1–3 is the supine minus its final -t.
- köpa → supine köpt → imperative köp
- läsa → supine läst → imperative läs
- tro → supine trott → imperative tro
For Group 4 (strong) verbs, take the present tense and drop the -er: springer → spring, skriver → skriv, kommer → kom. Either route lands you on the bare stem.
Läs igenom kontraktet innan du skriver under.
Read through the contract before you sign. 'läs' (Group 2) — stem of läsa.
Kom hit ett ögonblick!
Come here for a moment! 'kom' from komma (Group 4): present 'kommer' minus -er.
Negative commands: just add inte
To turn a command into a don't, simply place inte ("not") after the imperative. There is no special negative form, no helper verb — Swedish does not say anything like "do not."
Rör inte målningen!
Don't touch the painting! Imperative 'rör' + inte. No 'do' helper — that's an English-only thing.
Kom inte för sent imorgon.
Don't come too late tomorrow. 'kom' + inte.
Glöm inte att låsa dörren.
Don't forget to lock the door. 'glöm' (from glömma) + inte.
Softening a command into a request
A bare imperative can sound brusque, just as in English. Swedes soften in two main ways: tacking on a politeness word, or — more often — turning the order into a question with kan, skulle, or kunde.
Skicka saltet, tack.
Pass the salt, please. Imperative + 'tack' — polite enough among family or friends.
Kan du komma hit ett tag?
Can you come here for a moment? A question instead of a command — noticeably gentler than 'Kom hit!'
Skulle du kunna stänga fönstret?
Could you close the window? The most polite frame — a conditional question, for strangers or formal settings.
Note the spectrum: Stäng fönstret! (direct) → Stäng fönstret, tack (polite imperative) → Kan du stänga fönstret? (request) → Skulle du kunna stänga fönstret? (very polite). They all mean the same thing; the difference is purely how forceful you sound.
Common Mistakes
❌ Köpa mjölk!
Incorrect — that's the infinitive. The Group 2 imperative drops the -a: 'Köp mjölk!'
✅ Köp mjölk!
Buy milk!
❌ Köper du mjölk! (as a command)
Incorrect — 'köper' is the present tense, not an imperative. The command is the bare stem 'köp'.
✅ Köp mjölk!
Buy milk!
❌ Gör inte röra mina saker!
Incorrect — Swedish has no 'do' helper for commands. Just use the imperative + inte.
✅ Rör inte mina saker!
Don't touch my things!
❌ Skriva ditt namn. (keeping the infinitive -a)
Incorrect — that's the infinitive. The strong verb skriva drops the -a too: 'Skriv ditt namn.'
✅ Skriv ditt namn.
Write your name.
Key Takeaways
- The imperative is the bare verb stem. It equals the infinitive only for Group 1 (tala!); for Groups 2, 3, and 4 it is shorter (köp!, läs!, spring!, gå!).
- Quick stem check: imperative = supine minus -t (Groups 1–3), or present minus -er (Group 4 strong verbs).
- Negative commands = imperative + inte (Kom inte sent!). There is no "do" helper — adding one is an English transfer error.
- Soften a command by making it a question: Kan du…? (can you), Skulle du kunna…? (could you), or by adding tack.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- The Four Conjugation GroupsA2 — Swedish verbs sort into four conjugation classes, identified not by the present tense but by the PAST (preteritum) and supine: Group 1 (talar/talade/talat), Group 2 (ringer/ringde/ringt, köper/köpte/köpt), Group 3 (bor/bodde/bott), and Group 4, the strong verbs (skriver/skrev/skrivit) that change their vowel. Group 1 is so dominant and regular that every new and borrowed verb joins it — so treat it as the default and memorise only the closed list of strong verbs.
- The Infinitive and attA1 — The dictionary form of the verb — almost always ending in -a (tala, läsa, springa), with a handful of monosyllabic verbs ending in another vowel (gå, se, bo). The infinitive marker att means 'to', but it is pronounced 'å', identical to the conjunction och — which is exactly why everyone, natives included, mixes the two up in writing.
- Making Requests and OffersB1 — The Swedish request ladder — from a bare imperative + tack, up through Kan du...? and Skulle du kunna...? to Skulle det vara möjligt att...? — plus how to make offers (Vill du ha...? Får jag bjuda på...?) and accept or decline (Ja tack / Nej tack / Gärna / Det behövs inte). Among equals, Swedish requests are more direct than English at the same politeness level.
- Negation: OverviewA1 — Swedish negates with the single free word inte ('not') — no auxiliary, no 'do not'. The catch is WHERE inte sits: after the finite verb in a main clause (Jag förstår inte) but BEFORE it in a subordinate clause (...att jag inte förstår) — the BIFF signature. There are also negative quantifiers (ingen/inget/inga) and a firm no-double-negation rule. This page maps the system and routes you to the detail.