The Simple Past of Group 2b Verbs
While Group 2a verbs form the simple past (preteritum) by adding -de to the stem, Group 2b verbs add -te instead.
This happens whenever a verb's stem ends in a voiceless consonant: -p, -t, -k, or -s. To find the stem, just drop the -a from the infinitive, and then add -te.
- resa (to travel) → res
- te → reste (travelled)
- väcka (to wake) → väck
- te → väckte (woke)
- köpa (to buy) → köp
- te → köpte (bought)
As always in Swedish, the verb form stays exactly the same regardless of who is performing the action.
| We travelled to the hotel yesterday. | Vi reste till hotellet igår. |
| The guide woke the tourist early. | Guiden väckte turisten tidigt. |
| Did you buy the map at the airport? | Köpte du kartan på flygplatsen? |
Verbs Ending in -t
When a verb stem already ends in a -t (like byt- from byta), you still add -te to form the past tense. This means the past tense will be spelled with a double -tt-.
- byta (to change/exchange) → byt
- te → bytte (changed)
| The tourist exchanged the suitcase in the store. | Turisten bytte resväskan i butiken. |
Traveling and Sightseeing
Many common verbs used to describe trips and activities belong to Group 2b, as their stems end in -k or -s.
If you use a phrasal verb consisting of multiple words, like tycka om (to like), remember that only the main verb takes the past tense ending (tyckte om).
- tycka (to think/like) → tyckte
- åka (to go/travel) → åkte
- läsa (to read) → läste
| We liked the excursion and the hotel. | Vi tyckte om utflykten och hotellet. |
| Then they went to the airport. | Sedan åkte de till flygplatsen. |
| We read the newspaper on the train. | Vi läste tidningen på tåget. |