Present Tense
Learn how the Swedish present tense is formed and used for actions happening now, repeated actions, general facts, and future events.
What Is the present tense?
The present tense is a verb form used primarily for actions, events, and states connected to the present.
Hon läser en bok.She is reading a book.
Swedish does not change the verb depending on who performs the action. The same present-tense form is used with every subject:
jag arbetar
du arbetar
han arbetar
vi arbetar
de arbetar
This makes Swedish verb agreement much simpler than in languages where the verb changes according to person or number – like in English!
The present tense is not limited to something happening at this exact moment. It can also describe habits, repeated actions, general facts, and events in the future:
Jag tränar varje måndag.I train every Monday.
Sverige ligger norr om Tyskland.Sweden is located north of Germany.
Vi åker till Göteborg imorgon.We're going to Gothenburg tomorrow.
The context and any time expressions tell us how to interpret the sentence.
Swedish uses one present-tense form where English may use either the simple present or the present continuous: läser can mean both "read/reads" and "am/is/are reading."
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The full grammar article explains how Swedish verbs form the present tense, when the endings -r and -er are used, which verbs have no ending, and how the present tense can refer to the present, future, and past.