In this blog post, we’ll look into if Swedish verbs are easy or difficult to master, and what strategy you should use to learn them. You can also check out our very popular Swedish verbs 101 Bootcamp; an intensive course with a unique formula for memorising verbs once and for all.
What are verbs?
Verbs is a word category that we can think of as a “Staple Diet”. It’s one of the corner stones of a language. They are words that expres what someone is doing, or what’s happening.
You need to be able to express (or understand) what’s happening. And you also need to know if something is happening right now, if it will happen in the future, or if it has already happened.
Swedish verbs are actually easy
In one sense, Swedish verbs are quite easy! They don’t have different forms for different persons (phew!). If you know English or German, you can sometimes (or even often) guess what many of the Swedish verbs mean.
Swedish also has many regular verbs (another phew!). Actually, about 67% of our verbs belong to Group 1, which is one of the three regular verb groups. But in reality, we use our irregular verbs so often in our daily lives. This means that you have to memorise them! One by one!
If you don’t spend enough time memorising the verbs, you’ll forever feel unsure of the different verb forms.
It is frustrating and de-motivating to feel that you are constantly doubting yourself. It takes up a lot of mental energy when you speak, listen or write. Especially as we use these verbs so often.
It’s not a quick fix
The thing is this. In our society today, we are used to instant results. Instant gratification. Quick fixes. You invest your money in something, and BOOM – you get the result, straight away.
Language isn’t like that. Your language skills are not Amazon Prime. They are not going to show up in two days.
Improving foreign language skills can be both quick and painfully slow – in equal measures. On the one hand, you can make some big leaps forward in little time. But on the other hand, it does take time too.
Learning a language is not a quick fix or a miracle pill. It’s more like a very slow marathon, with some hills up and down. So the best thing to do is to make sure you get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You also need the right kind of habits and routines in place to keep you going, some good tools and equipment, as well as some good coaching/support.
There are many, many thousands of Swedish verbs. This might feel daunting to think about. But as with anything, a long journey begins with one step. And to be honest, you don’t have to learn them all.
Learn some, and learn them well
It’s important that you take time to learn some of them properly. And to do that, you need to divide them into (very) small chunks. There is no way you can sit and learn hundreds of verbs in one go. It’s just not possible.
But you could take 5 or 10 a week (or maybe even a couple), and practice them until you know them by heart and they become automatic.
You may not always be motivated, you must learn to be disciplined. And if you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.
And remember – there is nothing wrong with being a beginner. Nobody starts at the top.
If you want to sort out your Swedish verbs once and for all, check this out:
