Försök och construction

Level 5

Command: Försök och slappna av.
Posture: Hon sitter och läser.
Motion: Vi går och handlar.
These patterns cannot all replace och with att.

How It Works

The try-and command is one type of pseudo-coordination. The first verb helps frame the event described by the second, for example as an attempt or as activity in a particular posture. Motion constructions can describe going somewhere and then doing something; simultaneity is not required.

Key Characteristics:

  • Verb Tense Agreement: In the ordinary patterns here, the verbs match in tense or form: sitter och läser, satt och läste, ska sitta och läsa. If one is in the imperative, the other follows suit.
  • Common Verbs: This construction is typically used with a specific set of first verbs, including:
    • Verbs of motion: gå (go), springa (run), komma (come), skynda (hurry)
    • Verbs of posture: sitta (sit), stå (stand), ligga (lie down)
    • Verbs of effort: försöka (try)
  • Different Patterns: Försök och is especially associated with conversational commands. Use försöker (att) göra for an ordinary statement of trying. Posture constructions such as sitter och läser are normal Swedish and cannot simply replace och with att. For motion and purpose, gå för att handla is possible but explicitly presents a purpose; it is not a mechanical att substitution.

Contrast with True Coordination:
Ordinary coordination can link independent activities, which may be simultaneous or sequential.
Example: Jag lagade mat och diskade. (I cooked food and did the dishes.) -> Two distinct actions.

In posture pseudo-coordination, the first verb describes the posture during the activity.
Example: Jag satt och läste. (I sat and read.) -> One action: reading while sitting.

Examples (5)

  1. Försök och slappna av lite.

    Try and relax a little.

    Word by Word: Try and relax a little.

    Both 'försök' and 'slappna av' are in the imperative form. This is a common way to give encouraging advice.

  2. Jag ska gå och handla efter jobbet.

    I'm going to go shopping after work.

    Word by Word: I shall go and shop after work.

    Here, 'gå och handla' functions as a single activity. The verbs 'gå' and 'handla' are both in the infinitive form, following the modal verb 'ska'.

  3. Barnen satt och ritade i timmar.

    The children sat and drew for hours.

    Word by Word: The children sat and drew for hours.

    This describes a continuous state. Both 'satt' (sat) and 'ritade' (drew) are in the past tense (preterite).

  4. Spring och hämta posten, är du snäll!

    Run and get the mail, please!

    Word by Word: Run and get the mail, are you kind!

    Spring and hämta are both imperatives. The motion is directed toward fetching the mail; it can precede the fetching rather than occur simultaneously with it.

  5. Vi ligger och tittar på en film.

    We are lying down watching a movie.

    Word by Word: We lie and look at a film.

    Both verbs, 'ligger' and 'tittar', are in the present tense, describing an ongoing activity.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing verb tenses.

    Han satt och läser en bok.
    Han satt och läste en bok.

    In the ordinary posture pattern shown here, both verbs have matching past-tense forms. Since 'satt' is in the past tense, the second verb must also be in the past tense ('läste'), not the present tense ('läser').

  • Treating och and att as interchangeable after sitta.

    Hon sitter att läsa en bok.
    Hon sitter och läser en bok.

    Sitta och läsa is an established posture construction. Att alone cannot replace och here. The att-infinitive alternative for försöka does not extend automatically to every verb in this family.

  • Using an infinitive after past-tense satt in the ordinary posture construction.

    Jag satt och äta middag.
    Jag satt och åt middag.

    In this past-tense posture pattern use satt and åt. Satt och åt describes eating while seated, rather than necessarily sitting down and then eating.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Försök och constructionLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand the 'try-and' construction (försök och...), you first need to know the standard way of expressing 'try to' using 'försöka'. You also need to understand how 'och' (and) is used to link verbs in pseudo-coordinated structures, which is a common feature in colloquial Swedish.

Words in This Pattern

försökaoch