The Past Tense: var and hade
Welcome to the simple past tense (preteritum)! Just like in the present tense, Swedish verbs never change based on the subject (I, you, we, they).
- vara (to be) becomes var (was/were)
- ha (to have) becomes hade (had)
Word Order Reminder: If you start your sentence with a time expression like igår (yesterday) or i helgen (this weekend), remember the V2 rule. The verb must be the second idea in the sentence, immediately following the time expression.
| Yesterday I was sick. | Igår var jag sjuk. |
| I was off from work. | Jag var ledig från jobbet. |
| Yesterday I had a fever. | Igår hade jag feber. |
Asking Questions
To ask a yes/no question about the past, simply invert the subject and the verb, starting your sentence with var or hade.
| Were you off work yesterday? | Var du ledig igår? |
| Did you have an exam yesterday? | Hade du ett prov igår? |
Adjective Agreement in the Past
Even though an event happened in the past, adjectives still must agree with the noun they describe. Just as in the present tense, add -t for ett-words and -a for plural subjects.
| I had a cold yesterday. | Jag var förkyld igår. |
| They had colds and were tired. | De var förkylda och trötta. |
| This book was boring. | Den här boken var tråkig. |
| The exam was not boring. | Provet var inte tråkigt. |
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