The Simple Past of Group 1 Verbs
Group 1 is the most common category of regular verbs in Swedish. Their infinitive form ends in -a.
To talk about a completed action in the past (the simple past, or preteritum), simply add -de to the infinitive. This means the past tense form for these verbs always ends in -ade.
- vandra (to hike) → vandrade (hiked)
- måla (to paint) → målade (painted)
Like all Swedish verbs, the past tense form stays exactly the same regardless of who is doing the action (jag, du, hon, vi, etc.).
| We hiked on the mountain yesterday. | Vi vandrade på fjället igår. |
| Johan painted the house. | Johan målade huset. |
Asking Questions in the Past Tense
To ask a yes/no question, place the verb at the beginning of the sentence. For other questions, start with a question word like vem (who) or vad (what), followed by the verb.
Past tense verbs are often paired with time expressions like igår (yesterday) or i helgen (this weekend).
| Did you hike on the mountain this weekend? | Vandrade ni på fjället i helgen? |
| Who painted the house yesterday? | Vem målade huset igår? |
Describing Sequences of Events
When telling a story or describing your weekend activities, you can easily link multiple past tense actions together using words like och (and) or sedan (then).
| We worked and then we had coffee. | Vi jobbade och sedan fikade vi. |
| She showered and packed the bag. | Hon duschade och packade väskan. |