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Questions & Answers about Vi tittade och skrattade.
Why do both verbs end in -ade?
In Swedish, most regular verbs belong to Group 1. These verbs end in -a in their basic dictionary form, like titta (to look) and skratta (to laugh). To make them past tense, you simply add -de to the end, making them tittade (looked) and skrattade (laughed).
How are words like tittade and skrattade actually pronounced in everyday speech?
In spoken Swedish, people almost always drop the final -de on these verbs. So, instead of carefully pronouncing "titta-de", you will usually just hear "titta", and skrattade will sound exactly like "skratta". You can figure out that it is in the past tense from the context of the conversation!
Could I use såg instead of tittade here?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. Tittade means you actively looked at or watched something on purpose. Såg is the past tense of se (to see), which is more about just noticing something with your eyes without necessarily trying to.
Do I need to say vi skrattade or is it okay to leave out the second vi?