-ande

Gerund-like Nouns

Level 5

The endings -ande and -ende, which form present participles, can also be used to turn a verb into a noun. This noun describes the act or process of doing something. For example, skriva (to write) becomes ett skrivande (the act of writing).

How It Works

Swedish action nouns can share their form with the present participle form of a verb. The action noun often refers to a process, activity or manner, but lexicalized countable or result meanings also exist.

Grammatical Properties:

  • Gender: The action nouns studied here are neuter (use ett). This is not a claim about every word ending in -ande: en ordförande names a person. Example: ett ständigt klagande (a constant complaining).
  • Number: Activity readings are often uncountable and normally singular. Countable nouns can have plural -n: ett yttrande, flera yttranden; ett anförande, flera anföranden.
  • Definite Form: They can take the definite form by adding -t. The definite form can identify an activity in context or present the activity generally; it need not name a single event. Example: Skrivandet tog hela dagen. (The writing took all day.)
  • Modification: They can be modified by adjectives, just like other nouns. Example: Ett snabbt agerande är nödvändigt. (A quick action is necessary.)

-ande vs. -ning Nominalizations:
Both can form action nouns, and their meanings overlap. Learn the individual noun rather than applying a strict process-versus-result divide.

  • -ande emphasizes the process, activity, or manner. It often presents the action as an activity; neither abstraction nor uninterrupted duration is guaranteed by the suffix.
    Example: Hennes sjungande är vackert. (Her singing is beautiful - refers to the way she sings).
  • -ning often refers to a concrete result, a single event, or the activity as a whole concept.
    Example: Jag lyssnade på en inspelning. (I listened to a recording - the result of recording).

Usage in Formal Language:
These -ande nouns are a hallmark of a nominal style (nominalstil), which is very common in formal, academic, and administrative texts. This style uses more nouns and fewer clauses to convey information densely.

Genitive Constructions:
With -ande nouns, the genitive can indicate either the subject or the object of the action.

  • Subjective Genitive: The noun in the genitive is the one performing the action. Lärarnas undervisande (The teachers' teaching).
  • Objective Genitive: A genitive can correspond to the object: fiendens besegrande can mean the defeating of the enemy in the appropriate context. Besegrandet av fienden uses an av prepositional complement instead; fienden is not in the genitive case.

Nouns And Person-Referring Participles
Compare ett anförande, anförandet, två anföranden with en sörjande, den sörjande, två sörjande. The first is an inflecting neuter noun; the second uses a participle to refer to a person. En ordförande is a lexicalized common-gender noun. Do not choose gender or prohibit plurals simply by looking at the final letters.

With activity nouns such as tänkande, a singular mass reading is the ordinary model. A countable noun such as yttrande instead has a regular plural. Dictionaries record these lexical differences.

Examples (6)

  1. Ditt ständiga klagande gör mig trött.

    Your constant complaining makes me tired.

    Word by Word: Your constant complaining makes me tired.

  2. Ett snabbt agerande från polisen förhindrade en olycka.

    A quick action from the police prevented an accident.

    Word by Word: A quick acting from the police prevented an accident.

  3. Skrivandet är en viktig del av mitt arbete.

    The act of writing is an important part of my job.

    Word by Word: The writing is an important part of my work.

    Skrivandet is the definite form of the activity noun. Here writing is presented as an activity within the speaker’s work, not necessarily one specific writing event.

  4. Vi måste uppmuntra till ett mer kritiskt tänkande i skolorna.

    We must encourage more critical thinking in schools.

    Word by Word: We must encourage to a more critical thinking in the schools.

  5. Hennes sjungande fyllde hela rummet.

    Her singing filled the entire room.

    Word by Word: Her singing filled the whole room.

    This focuses on the manner and process of her singing, not a specific song or recording.

  6. Besegrandet av fienden var en stor seger.

    The defeating of the enemy was a great victory.

    Word by Word: The defeating of the enemy was a big victory.

    Av fienden is a prepositional complement identifying the object of defeating. It corresponds in meaning to an objective genitive such as fiendens besegrande, but is not itself a genitive form.

Common Mistakes

  • Using An Activity Noun For A Written Text

    Jag läste ett skrivande av henne. (Intended: I read a text she wrote.)
    Jag läste en text av henne.

    For an ordinary written text as the intended object of reading, use en text or another suitable result noun. Skrivande normally names the activity of writing. This lexical distinction does not mean every -ande noun is uncountable or every -ning noun names a result.

How It Connects

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

-andeLevel 5Gerund-like Nouns

Learn This First

To understand -ande nominalizations (gerund-like nouns), you first need to know how to form the present participle (-ande/-ende) from verb stems. Since these forms function as neuter nouns in Swedish, a solid grasp of noun genders and how verbs are conjugated is required to use them correctly in context.