| Form | Swedish | English pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | att spela | to … |
| Present | spelar | I …, he …s |
| Past (preteritum) | spelade | I …ed |
| Supine (perfect) | har spelat | have …ed |
| Past perfect | hade spelat | had …ed |
| Future | ska spela / kommer att spela | will … |
| Imperative | spela! | … ! |
| Past participle | spelad | …ed (adjective) |
| Present participle | spelande | …ing |
Swedish verbs do not change for person: jag spelar, du spelar, hon spelar, vi spelar, de spelar. Learn one form per tense and you can use it with everyone.
How spela conjugates
Group 1 is the largest and most regular group. The infinitive ends in -a, the present adds -r, the past adds -de and the supine adds -t: tala → talar, talade, talat. New verbs that enter Swedish (googla, chatta) almost always join this group. So spela → spelar, spelade, spelat.
Passive (s-form)
Swedish makes the passive by adding -s: the doer drops out and the thing acted on becomes the subject. Spoken Swedish often prefers bli + past participle (blev spelad).
| Form | Swedish |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | att spelas |
| Present | spelas |
| Past | spelades |
| Supine | har spelats |
Meanings and examples
Patterns: ngn = någon (someone) · ngt = något (something) · SATS = a clause · VERB = a verb · PLATS = a place · RIKTNING = a direction · TID = a time · SÄTT = a manner · ADJ = an adjective