Learn Hardcore Swedish: Har du redan ätit?

In Swedish yes/no questions you must place the finite verb in the first position (the “V2” rule). That means the auxiliary har moves to the front and the subject du follows.

What is ätit? How does it relate to äter and åt?

Ätit is the supine (past participle) of äta and is used with har to form the perfect.

Äter is the present tense (“eat”/“are eating”),
Åt is the simple past (“ate”),
Har ätit = “have eaten.”

Why is har + ätit used rather than using the simple past åt?

Swedish distinguishes perfect and simple past:

Åt simply states that an action happened in the past.
Har ätit (“have eaten”) indicates the action is completed with relevance to the present moment (for example, you’re not hungry now).

Where does redan go in the sentence and can it move elsewhere?

Redan (“already”) typically follows the auxiliary har and precedes the supine ätit:
Har du redan ätit?
You can also place it after ätit (Har du ätit redan?), but that usually adds surprise or extra emphasis.

What’s the difference between Har du redan ätit? and Äter du redan?

Har du redan ätit? uses the perfect tense to ask if you have already finished eating.
Äter du redan? uses the present tense to ask if you are currently in the process of eating.

Can you say Hade du redan ätit??

Yes. Hade du redan ätit? is the past perfect (pluperfect), asking if someone had already eaten before another past event. It’s formed with the auxiliary hade + supine ätit.

Why doesn’t Swedish use a continuous form like are you eating, but only use äter?

Swedish doesn’t have a separate progressive tense. The simple present äter covers both ongoing and habitual actions. To stress that something is happening right now, Swedes usually add an adverb, for example just nu (“just now”) or på gång (“in the process”).

Can you drop du and say Har redan ätit??

No. In Swedish yes/no questions you normally include the subject. Omitting du would make the sentence grammatically incomplete or unclear.