Group 2 is the second large class of weak verbs. Like Group 1, its members have infinitives in -a, but they form the present differently: you drop the infinitive -a and add -er (ringa → ringer, köpa → köper, läsa → läser). That single difference — dropped -a plus -er, versus Group 1's kept -a plus -r — is the whole contrast in the present. There is one tidy subgroup (stems already ending in -r) and one important warning: the present tense does not reveal which past-tense subtype (-de or -te) a Group 2 verb takes, so you must learn the past alongside it.
The rule: drop -a, add -er
A Group 2 infinitive ends in -a preceded by a consonant (a consonant-final stem). To form the present, remove the -a and attach -er:
| Infinitive | Stem | Present (stem + er) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ringa | ring- | ringer | call / ring |
| köpa | köp- | köper | buy |
| läsa | läs- | läser | read |
| stänga | stäng- | stänger | close |
| hjälpa | hjälp- | hjälper | help |
Contrast this directly with Group 1: tala keeps its -a and adds -r (talar), but läsa drops its -a and adds -er (läser). The visible difference is -ar versus -er, but the mechanism differs too — Group 1 adds, Group 2 replaces.
As always, there is no person agreement — jag köper, hon köper, de köper are all identical, and the plain present covers both I buy and I am buying.
Jag ringer dig ikväll, jag lovar.
I'll call you tonight, I promise. ringer (ring + er).
Hon köper alltid bröd på vägen hem.
She always buys bread on the way home. köper (köp + er) — no -s on the third person.
Vi läser samma bok just nu, vilket sammanträffande!
We're reading the same book right now, what a coincidence! läser (läs + er); plain present = 'are reading'.
Stänger du fönstret? Det drar.
Could you close the window? There's a draught. stänger (stäng + er).
Han hjälper mig med läxorna varje kväll.
He helps me with my homework every evening. hjälper (hjälp + er).
Jag behöver mer tid, jag glömmer alltid något.
I need more time, I always forget something. behöver (behöv + er), glömmer (glöm + er, with the double m kept).
Note glömmer and känner (from glömma, känna): when the stem ends in a double consonant (-mm, -nn), that doubling is kept before -er (glömma → glömmer, känna → känner).
Stems ending in -r: just add -r or nothing
A neat subgroup: when the stem already ends in -r, you cannot tack on a full -er without an awkward -rer. Instead the present is just the stem itself (ending in -r), so it looks like the stem with a single -r:
| Infinitive | Present | English |
|---|---|---|
| köra | kör | drive |
| höra | hör | hear |
| göra | gör | do / make |
| lära (sig) | lär (sig) | learn |
So köra ("to drive") has the present kör, not körer — the stem kör- already carries the -r. The ö of the stem stays exactly as written; the diacritic is part of the word.
Jag kör till jobbet men hör dåligt i trafiken.
I drive to work but hear badly in the traffic. kör (from köra), hör (from höra) — r-stems take no extra -er.
Vad gör du i helgen?
What are you doing this weekend? gör (from göra) — and the plain present even points to the near future here.
Hon lär sig svenska och kör buss på deltid.
She's learning Swedish and drives a bus part-time. lär sig (from lära sig), kör (from köra).
The catch: present doesn't show the past subtype
Group 2 splits in the past tense into a -de subtype (voiced stems: ringde, stängde) and a -te subtype (voiceless stems: köpte, läste). Crucially, the present looks the same for both — ringer and köper have identical endings, yet their pasts diverge (ringde vs köpte). The present alone cannot tell you which subtype you are dealing with.
The practical consequence: when you learn a new Group 2 verb, record its past tense too, not just the present. Knowing ringer does not tell you it is ringde; knowing köper does not tell you it is köpte. The split is governed by the voicing of the stem-final consonant (voiced → -de, voiceless → -te), drilled on Group 2 Past: -de and Group 2 Past: -te.
Jag tänker på dig ofta.
I think about you often. tänker (tänk + er) — present gives no hint that the past is the -te type, tänkte.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag ringar dig ikväll. (using the Group 1 -ar ending)
Incorrect — ringa is Group 2, so it takes -er, not -ar: ringer.
✅ Jag ringer dig ikväll.
I'll call you tonight.
❌ Hon köpar bröd. (Group 1 ending on a Group 2 verb)
Incorrect — köpa is Group 2: köper, not köpar.
✅ Hon köper bröd.
She buys bread.
❌ Jag körer till jobbet. (adding -er to an r-stem)
Incorrect — the stem of köra already ends in -r, so the present is just kör, not körer.
✅ Jag kör till jobbet.
I drive to work.
❌ De läsers en bok. (adding a person -s)
Incorrect — no third-person/plural -s. The Group 2 present is the same for all subjects: läser.
✅ De läser en bok.
They are reading a book.
Key Takeaways
- Group 2 present = drop the infinitive -a, add -er (ringa → ringer, köpa → köper, läsa → läser). Compare Group 1, which keeps the -a and adds -r (talar).
- A double consonant in the stem is kept before -er (glömma → glömmer, känna → känner).
- R-stems add no extra ending: köra → kör, höra → hör, göra → gör — the stem already supplies the -r.
- No person agreement; the plain present covers both buy and am buying.
- The present cannot reveal the -de vs -te past subtype, so always learn the past tense alongside a new Group 2 verb.
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- Present Tense: Group 1 (-ar)A1 — The single most useful conjugation rule in Swedish: for the giant, fully regular Group 1 class, the present tense is just the infinitive plus -r (tala → talar, arbeta → arbetar, fråga → frågar). No stem change, no person endings. Because every new and borrowed verb joins Group 1, mastering this one rule unlocks the bulk of the Swedish verb lexicon.
- Past Tense: Group 2 (-de)A2 — The -de subtype of Group 2 preteritum: verbs whose stem ends in a voiced sound add -de (ringa → ringde, stänga → stängde, böja → böjde, höra → hörde). The -de vs -te split is purely phonological — voiced stem takes -de, voiceless takes -te — which is exactly the English -ed pronunciation rule (/d/ vs /t/) that you already use without thinking.
- Past Tense: Group 2 (-te)A2 — The -te subtype of Group 2 preteritum: verbs whose stem ends in a voiceless consonant (k, p, t, s, x) add -te (köpa → köpte, läsa → läste, röka → rökte, tycka → tyckte). It's the mirror image of the -de subtype — same phonological rule as the English -ed /t/ sound after voiceless stems — plus a handful of -nk/-ck verbs (tänka → tänkte, räcka → räckte) with a small stem tweak worth flagging.
- 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.