| Form | Swedish | English pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | att vara | to … |
| Present | är | I …, he …s |
| Past (preteritum) | var | I …ed |
| Supine (perfect) | har varit | have …ed |
| Past perfect | hade varit | had …ed |
| Future | ska vara / kommer att vara | will … |
| Imperative | var! | … ! |
| Present participle | varande | …ing |
Swedish verbs do not change for person: jag är, du är, hon är, vi är, de är. Learn one form per tense and you can use it with everyone.
How vara conjugates
Group 4 holds the strong and irregular verbs. They change their vowel in the past and supine (skriva → skrev, skrivit) or are fully irregular (vara → är, var, varit). They are few, but they are the most frequent verbs in the language, so they are worth learning one by one. vara is one of them: är, var, varit. Learn these forms together.
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