The two weak conjugation classes form their supine — the form after ha — with the simplest endings in the system. Group 1 adds -at (tala → talat), and Group 2 adds -t to the stem (köpa → köpt). Neither changes the stem vowel, and the supine, as always, is invariable. The only real difficulty is not the rule itself but keeping the Group 1 supine -at apart from two near-identical relatives — the past -ade and the participle -ad — which differ by a single letter and trip up nearly every learner. This page teaches the forms and then lays that dangerous trio out so you can stop confusing them.
Group 1: stem + -at
Group 1 verbs are the big, regular class whose infinitive ends in unstressed -a. Their supine is formed by adding -at to the stem:
| Infinitive | Supine (-at) | Perfect | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| tala | talat | har talat | speak |
| arbeta | arbetat | har arbetat | work |
| fråga | frågat | har frågat | ask |
| spela | spelat | har spelat | play |
| jobba | jobbat | har jobbat | work (informal) |
| tvätta | tvättat | har tvättat | wash |
Jag har spelat fotboll sedan jag var sex år.
I've played football since I was six. spela → spelat, the textbook Group 1 supine.
Har du frågat dina föräldrar om det?
Have you asked your parents about it? fråga → frågat.
Vi har tvättat och städat hela förmiddagen.
We've washed and cleaned all morning. tvättat and städat — two Group 1 supines in -at.
Because Group 1 is the default, productive class, every borrowed and newly coined verb forms its supine in -at too: har mejlat ("have emailed"), har googlat ("have googled"), har streamat ("have streamed"). If a modern verb ends in unstressed -a, its supine is almost certainly -at.
Jag har googlat det men hittade inget bra svar.
I've googled it but found no good answer. googla → googlat — borrowed verbs take -at.
Group 2: stem + -t
Group 2 verbs have a stem ending in a consonant, and they form the supine by adding just -t to that stem. (Group 2 splits into a voiced subgroup that takes -de in the past and a voiceless one that takes -te, but in the supine both simply add -t.)
| Infinitive | Supine (-t) | Perfect | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| köpa | köpt | har köpt | buy |
| läsa | läst | har läst | read |
| ringa | ringt | har ringt | call / ring |
| stänga | stängt | har stängt | close |
| behöva | behövt | har behövt | need |
| köra | kört | har kört | drive |
Hon har läst boken två gånger.
She has read the book twice. läsa → läst.
Jag har köpt allt vi behöver till helgen.
I've bought everything we need for the weekend. köpa → köpt.
Har du ringt tandläkaren än?
Have you called the dentist yet? ringa → ringt.
Vi har stängt butiken för idag.
We've closed the shop for today. stänga → stängt.
Note that -t attaches straight to the consonant stem, so you get clusters that look heavy but are normal: läs + t → läst, ring + t → ringt, stäng + t → stängt. A few verbs whose stem already ends in -d or -t contract slightly (möta → mött, känna → känt), but the principle is the same: one -t on the stem.
The dangerous trio: -ade, -at, -ad
This is the single most error-prone point for Group 1, so it gets its own treatment. Group 1 has three look-alike forms that differ by one letter, and learners swap them constantly:
| Form | Ending | Example | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past (preteritum) | -ade | talade | simple past: jag talade "I spoke" |
| Supine | -at | talat | after ha: jag har talat "I have spoken" |
| Past participle | -ad | talad | as an adjective: en talad dialekt "a spoken dialect" |
The fix is to never learn them in isolation. Whenever you meet a Group 1 verb, file all three together: talade / talat / talad, frågade / frågat / frågad, öppnade / öppnat / öppnad. Each has a fixed job:
- -ade stands alone as the simple past: Jag *talade med henne igår.*
- -at comes after ha: Jag *har talat med henne.*
- -ad describes a noun and agrees like an adjective: en *talad dialekt ("a spoken dialect"). Because it agrees, its neuter form is -at (*ett talat språk) — which then collides with the supine, the very overlap covered just below.
Jag frågade henne igår, men jag har inte frågat hennes bror än.
I asked her yesterday, but I haven't asked her brother yet. frågade (past) vs. har frågat (supine) in one breath.
Vi öppnade dörren, och nu står den öppnad.
We opened the door, and now it stands opened. öppnade (past) → har/är form öppnad (participle, agreeing).
The participle has its own subtlety — it agrees, so the neuter form is -at (ett målat hus, "a painted house"), which then looks identical to the supine. But that is a participle topic; for the supine, just hold onto: after ha, Group 1 is -at. Full participle detail is on Supine vs. Past Participle.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag har talade med henne.
Incorrect — talade is the simple past. After har you need the supine talat.
✅ Jag har talat med henne.
I have talked with her.
❌ Jag har talad med chefen.
Incorrect — talad is the participle (the adjective form). The supine after har is talat.
✅ Jag har talat med chefen.
I have spoken with the boss.
❌ Hon har köpat en ny bil.
Incorrect — köpa is Group 2, so the supine is köpt (just -t), not -at.
✅ Hon har köpt en ny bil.
She has bought a new car.
❌ Vi har läsat tidningen.
Incorrect — läsa is Group 2; the supine adds -t to the stem: läst.
✅ Vi har läst tidningen.
We have read the newspaper.
❌ Har du ringat din mamma?
Incorrect — ringa is Group 2: ringt, not ringat.
✅ Har du ringt din mamma?
Have you called your mum?
Key Takeaways
- Group 1 supine = stem + -at (tala → talat, jobba → jobbat); it is the default for all new and borrowed verbs (googlat, mejlat).
- Group 2 supine = stem + -t (köpa → köpt, läsa → läst, ringa → ringt).
- Both supines are invariable — they never agree.
- The Group 1 dangerous trio: past -ade, supine -at, participle -ad (talade / talat / talad). Learn all three together; one letter distinguishes them.
- After ha, Group 1 is always -at — never -ade and never -ad.
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- The Supine: OverviewA2 — Swedish has a special, invariable verb form — the supine — used after 'ha' to build the perfect and pluperfect (jag har talat, jag hade skrivit). It never agrees with anything, ends in -at / -t / -tt / -it by verb group, and is DISTINCT from the agreeing past participle: 'I have written' is skrivit, but 'a written book' is skriven. English collapses both into one '-en' form; Swedish keeps them apart.
- Past Tense: Group 1 (-ade)A2 — Group 1 verbs form the past by adding -ade to the stem (tala→talade, arbeta→arbetade). It's the default class, takes every new and borrowed verb (mejla→mejlade, googla→googlade), and has no exceptions — the single most reliable verb form in Swedish. This page also covers the everyday spoken clipping of -ade to -a (han jobba igår).
- 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.
- Supine: Group 3 (-tt)B1 — Group 3 verbs are short, vowel-final verbs (bo, tro, sy, klä) whose supine adds a doubled -tt: bo → bott, tro → trott, sy → sytt, klä → klätt. The double t is not random — it spells the short stem vowel, exactly as the past -dde does. So the whole paradigm bor / bodde / bott is internally consistent once you see the short-vowel length rule.