When you play a practical joke on someone, you usually expect a sudden reaction.
| I was going to scare him with the prank. | Jag skulle skrämma honom med sprattet. |
To describe sudden, brief, or involuntary actions in Swedish, add the particle till immediately after the verb. This changes the verb from a continuous action to a momentary reflex.
Brief and Involuntary Actions
For example, skratta means "to laugh," but skratta till means "to let out a short, sudden laugh."
| He flinched when he saw the spider. | Han ryckte till när han såg spindeln. |
| I let out a short laugh when she flinched. | Jag skrattade till när hon ryckte till. |
Startling and Jumping
This pattern works well for physical reactions to being scared, like jumping (hoppa till) or screaming (skrika till). The verb haja till specifically means "to startle."
| The prank made the whole family jump in surprise. | Sprattet fick hela familjen att hoppa till. |
| I startled and gave a short scream. | Jag hajade till och skrek till. |
Sudden Changes in State
Till also describes other brief or sudden changes in state, such as waking up briefly (vakna till) or shuddering suddenly (rysa till).
| I woke up briefly because of the noise. | Jag vaknade till på grund av oljudet. |
| He had shuddered briefly before I opened the door. | Han hade ryst till innan jag öppnade dörren. |
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