In casual Swedish, when you want to express getting started on a task or finally tackling a chore, use the expression ta och followed by a main verb. This translates roughly to "go ahead and" or "get around to" doing something.
This is a type of pseudo-coordination. This means both verbs must be conjugated in the exact same tense, as if they were two equal actions joined by och.
In the present tense, use tar och followed by a present tense verb:
| Now I will go ahead and clear out the mess in the basement. | Nu tar jag och röjer röran i källaren. |
Past Tense
If you are talking about a task you already got around to doing, put both verbs in the past tense (tog och + past tense verb):
| He went ahead and scrubbed the bathtub in the morning. | Han tog och skurade badkaret på morgonen. |
Word Order with the V2 Rule
Because tar or tog functions as the finite (conjugated) verb in the clause, it must follow the standard V2 rule. If you start a sentence with a time expression or an adverb, the first verb comes second, followed by the subject, and then och plus the second verb:
| Finally we are going ahead and dusting the shelf in the bedroom. | Äntligen tar vi och dammar hyllan i sovrummet. |
Commands
To tell someone to go ahead and do something right away, use the imperative form for both verbs. The imperative of att ta is simply ta:
| Go ahead and air out the apartment right away! | Ta och vädra lägenheten direkt! |
Adverbs inside the Clause
When you add sentence adverbs like inte (not) or äntligen (finally) in the middle of a sentence, they take their usual place: immediately after the first conjugated verb (and the subject). This places them right before och:
| I finally went ahead and scrubbed the bathtub. | Jag tog äntligen och skurade badkaret. |
| We didn't go ahead and clear out the mess. | Vi tog inte och röjde röran. |
