Swedish has two verb forms that English collapses into one. English "written" does double duty — I have written (perfect) and a written letter (adjective). Swedish splits these jobs between two different words: the supine (skrivit), which only ever follows har/hade in the perfect, and the past participle (skriven), which acts as an adjective and powers the bli- and vara-passives. This page is about the second one — the agreeing form. The single most important fact: unlike the supine, the past participle changes its ending to match its noun (common gender, neuter, plural), exactly like an ordinary adjective.
The participle agrees; the supine does not
The supine is frozen. Jag har skrivit, vi har skrivit, breven har skrivit — it never changes shape. The past participle is the opposite: it inflects for gender and number like any adjective. Compare:
Jag har målat staketet.
I have painted the fence. målat = SUPINE, frozen, after 'har'.
Staketet är målat och grinden är målad.
The fence is painted and the gate is painted. målat (neuter, with ett-word staketet) vs målad (common, with en-word grinden) — the PARTICIPLE agrees.
That second sentence is the whole point of the page: målat and målad are the same participle, dressed differently to match the noun. So you must learn three forms per verb — the en-form, the ett-form, and the plural form — just as you learn three forms of an adjective.
The four formation patterns
Which endings the participle takes depends on the verb's conjugation group. There are four patterns. In each, the order is en-form / ett-form / plural.
Group 1 (-ar verbs): -ad / -at / -ade
The big, regular, productive group. Stem + -ad / -at / -ade.
| Verb | en-form | ett-form | plural / definite |
|---|---|---|---|
| måla (paint) | målad | målat | målade |
| öppna (open) | öppnad | öppnat | öppnade |
| laga (fix/cook) | lagad | lagat | lagade |
En nymålad vägg, ett nymålat staket och nymålade fönster.
A freshly painted wall, a freshly painted fence and freshly painted windows. The full set: målad (en) / målat (ett) / målade (plural).
Note the trap: the ett-form of a Group 1 participle (målat) is spelled identically to its supine (målat). Same letters, different job — only the surrounding words tell you which.
Group 2 (-er verbs): -d / -t / -da or -t / -t / -ta
Group 2 splits in two depending on whether the stem ends in a voiced or voiceless sound.
- Voiced stem → -d / -t / -da: stänga → stängd / stängt / stängda, bygga → byggd / byggt / byggda.
- Voiceless stem (ends in -k, -p, -s, -t) → -t / -t / -ta: köpa → köpt / köpt / köpta, läsa → läst / läst / lästa.
| Verb | en-form | ett-form | plural / definite |
|---|---|---|---|
| stänga (close) | stängd | stängt | stängda |
| köpa (buy) | köpt | köpt | köpta |
| läsa (read) | läst | läst | lästa |
Dörren är stängd, fönstret är stängt och alla luckor är stängda.
The door is closed, the window is closed and all the hatches are closed. stängd / stängt / stängda — voiced -d/-t/-da.
Det här är en köpt present, inte en hemgjord.
This is a bought present, not a homemade one. köpt — voiceless stem, so -t even in the en-form.
Group 3 (short vowel-stem verbs): -dd / -tt / -dda
The small group of monosyllabic verbs ending in a stressed vowel. Stem + -dd / -tt / -dda.
| Verb | en-form | ett-form | plural / definite |
|---|---|---|---|
| sy (sew) | sydd | sytt | sydda |
| klä (dress/clothe) | klädd | klätt | klädda |
| strö (sprinkle/scatter) | strödd | strött | strödda |
En handsydd klänning, ett handsytt örngott och handsydda gardiner.
A hand-sewn dress, a hand-sewn pillowcase and hand-sewn curtains. sydd / sytt / sydda — the -dd/-tt/-dda set.
Strong verbs: -en / -et / -na
Strong verbs (those that change their stem vowel rather than adding a dental ending) take -en / -et / -na. This is where Swedish diverges most sharply from the supine.
| Verb | supine | en-form | ett-form | plural / definite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| skriva (write) | skrivit | skriven | skrivet | skrivna |
| sjunga (sing) | sjungit | sjungen | sjunget | sjungna |
| bjuda (invite/offer) | bjudit | bjuden | bjudet | bjudna |
| stjäla (steal) | stulit | stulen | stulet | stulna |
Ett handskrivet brev känns mer personligt än ett tryckt.
A handwritten letter feels more personal than a printed one. skrivet — strong participle, ett-form.
De stulna cyklarna hittades i en källare i förorten.
The stolen bicycles were found in a basement in the suburbs. stulna — strong participle, plural, with the vowel u.
The hidden four-principal-parts reality
Here is the insight that the conjugation tables usually bury. For strong verbs, the supine and the participle are not just differently inflected — they can have different vowels. Look again:
- skriva: supine skrivit (i) vs participle skriven (i) — same vowel here.
- sjunga: supine sjungit (u) vs participle sjungen (u) — same again.
- stjäla: supine stulit (u) vs participle stulen (u) — same.
- binda: supine bundit vs participle bunden.
- finna: supine funnit vs participle funnen.
So strong verbs really have a four-form skeleton you must store: infinitive — past — supine — participle (finna — fann — funnit — funnen). English speakers are used to find — found — found collapsing into one past form; Swedish keeps two separate past-y forms (the -it supine for the perfect, the -en participle for adjective/passive duty), and you cannot derive one from the other by guessing.
Vi har bundit ihop buntarna, men en av de bundna kartongerna gick upp.
We've tied the bundles together, but one of the tied boxes came undone. SUPINE bundit (after har) vs PARTICIPLE bundna — both from binda, both with u, different jobs.
Where the participle is used
Three places, all covered in their own pages:
- As an attributive adjective: en målad vägg, de stulna cyklarna. See Participles as Adjectives.
- In the bli-passive (a dynamic event): Bilen blev stulen. See The bli-Passive.
- In the vara-passive (a resultant state): Dörren är stängd. See The vara-Passive.
In all three, the participle agrees with the subject or the noun it modifies — which is exactly why getting the en/ett/plural form right matters.
Maten är lagad, bordet är dukat och gästerna är inbjudna.
The food is cooked, the table is set and the guests are invited. Three participles, each agreeing: lagad (en mat), dukat (ett bord), inbjudna (plural gäster).
Common Mistakes
❌ Ett skrivit brev.
Incorrect — that's the supine. The supine can't be an adjective.
✅ Ett skrivet brev.
A written letter — the strong participle, ett-form, is skrivet.
❌ Dörren är stängt.
Incorrect — dörr is an en-word, so the participle must be stängd, not the ett-form.
✅ Dörren är stängd.
The door is closed.
❌ De gamla husen är målad.
Incorrect — a plural subject needs the plural participle.
✅ De gamla husen är målade.
The old houses are painted.
❌ Cyklarna blev stulen.
Incorrect — a plural subject (cyklarna) needs the plural participle stulna.
✅ Cyklarna blev stulna.
The bicycles got stolen.
❌ Ett köpd bröd.
Incorrect — bröd is an ett-word; the ett-form is köpt (and the voiceless stem already ends in -t, so it's köpt not köptt).
✅ Ett köpt bröd.
A bought (store-bought) loaf.
Key Takeaways
- The past participle agrees (en / ett / plural) like an adjective; the supine is frozen after har/hade. Same English word, two Swedish forms.
- The four patterns: G1 -ad / -at / -ade, G2 -d / -t / -da or -t / -t / -ta, G3 -dd / -tt / -dda, strong -en / -et / -na.
- Strong verbs need four principal parts (skriva – skrev – skrivit – skriven): the -it supine and the -en participle are different words, sometimes with different vowels.
- The participle is what you use as an adjective and in the bli- and vara-passives — so its agreement is everywhere, not a marginal detail.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Supine vs Past ParticipleB1 — The single Swedish verb-form distinction English has no equivalent for: the supine (har skrivit — fixed, invariable, only after ha) versus the past participle (en skriven bok, ett skrivet brev, skrivna böcker — fully agreeing, used as adjective and in the passive). English collapses both into one '-en' word; Swedish splits them, and confusing the two (*har skriven, *en skrivit bok) is a hallmark learner error.
- Participles as AdjectivesB2 — How Swedish present participles in -ande/-ende (en leende flicka — invariable) and past participles (en målad vägg, ett målat hus, de målade väggarna — fully agreeing) behave when used as adjectives, including the strong past participle in -en/-et/-na that links straight back to the verb system.
- The bli-PassiveB1 — The periphrastic bli-passive — bli + an agreeing past participle (Han blev vald; Bilen blev stulen) — marks a DYNAMIC event or change of state ('got/became X-ed'). It takes the agent with av (biten av en hund). Because it mirrors English 'be/get + participle' it gets overused: for habitual or general statements the -s passive is the idiomatic choice.
- The vara-Passive (Resultant State)B2 — How vara + past participle (dörren är stängd) describes a resultant STATE rather than an action, and how it contrasts sharply with the two dynamic passives — bli (an event: dörren blev stängd) and the -s form (an ongoing/habitual action: dörren stängs). Where English 'be + participle' is ambiguous, Swedish forces you to choose.