Simple past: Group 4

The Simple Past of Group 4 Verbs

Group 4 consists of strong and irregular verbs. Unlike the verbs in Groups 1, 2, and 3, these verbs do not add a suffix (like -de, -te, or -dde) to form the simple past (preteritum).

Instead, Group 4 verbs typically change their root vowel. Because there is no standard ending, you will simply need to learn the past tense form for each of these verbs as you encounter them.

Here is how you form the past tense for dö (to die) and vinna (to win):

• dö → dog (died)
• vinna → vann (won)

More Vowel Changes

Many Group 4 verbs shift to an ö in the past tense. For example, flyga (to fly) and bjuda (to invite):

• flyga → flög (flew)
• bjuda → bjöd (invited)

Documenting Life Events

When talking about history or life milestones, you will rely heavily on Group 4 verbs. Here are a few more extremely common strong verbs and their past tense forms:

• bli (to become) → blev (became)
• skriva (to write) → skrev (wrote)
• sjunga (to sing) → sjöng (sang)
• dricka (to drink) → drack (drank)

Notice how they drop the infinitive -a (if they have one) and change the vowel.