lär + Infinitive

Is Said To/apparently

Level 4

Lär + infinitive: is said to, apparently, or is likely to in context.
Lär ha + supinum: is said to have done.

How It Works

lär is a modal verb that expresses epistemic modality, specifically indicating that the information is based on hearsay, rumor, or second-hand reports. This attribution leaves the original information source in the background; it does not necessarily express disbelief. Lär can also convey a supposition, especially about future developments.

Structure:
A subject-first pattern is: Subject + lär + Main Verb (infinitive).

  • Hon lär bo i Stockholm. (She apparently lives in Stockholm.)

Tense Usage:
lär itself is a present tense modal verb. To talk about something that is said to have happened in the past, you cannot use a past tense form of lär. Instead, you combine it with the perfect infinitive: lär + ha + supinum.

  • Present reference: Han lär vara rik. (He is said to be rich.)
  • Past reference: Han lär ha varit rik. (He is said to have been rich.)

This is similar to how other modals form past-time references, for example with skulle ha gjort (would have done).

Comparison with Alternatives:
While you can express the same idea with phrases like det sägs att... (it is said that...) or adverbs like tydligen (apparently), lär gives a compact auxiliary construction in both speech and writing. Tydligen may instead draw a conclusion from evidence; these expressions are not identical in every context.

  • Det sägs att filmen är bra. (It is said that the movie is good.)
  • Filmen lär vara bra. (The movie is said to be good.)

Negation normally belongs to the reported or supposed proposition: De lär inte komma means they are reportedly not coming, rather than that nobody reports their coming. The auxiliary has no ordinary infinitive or preterite; lärde belongs to the separate verb lära.

Examples (5)

  1. Den nya restaurangen lär vara väldigt bra.

    The new restaurant is said to be very good.

    Word by Word: The new restaurant is-said-to be very good.

  2. Han lär ha rest jorden runt när han var ung.

    He apparently traveled around the world when he was young.

    Word by Word: He is-said-to have traveled the-earth around when he was young.

    Here, lär ha rest is used to report a past event. The structure is lär + ha + supinum.

  3. Det lär bli storm i natt, enligt väderprognosen.

    There's apparently going to be a storm tonight, according to the weather forecast.

    Word by Word: It is-said-to become storm in night, according-to the-weather-forecast.

    Enligt väderprognosen gives an explicit source. In other contexts, lär bli can express the speaker’s expectation about what will happen.

  4. Hon lär tala fem språk flytande.

    I hear she speaks five languages fluently.

    Word by Word: She is-said-to speak five languages fluently.

  5. Företaget lär ha gått i konkurs förra veckan.

    The company is said to have gone bankrupt last week.

    Word by Word: The-company is-said-to have gone in bankruptcy last week.

    Another example of reporting a past event using lär ha + supinum.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the infinitive marker 'att' after 'lär'.

    De lär att komma sent.
    De lär komma sent.

    lär is a modal verb, and like other modals (kan, ska, vill), it is followed directly by the infinitive form of the verb without att.

  • Trying to use a past tense form of 'lär' for past events.

    Han lärde vara sjuk igår.
    Han lär ha varit sjuk igår.

    To talk about something that reportedly happened in the past, you must use the structure lär ha + supinum (the perfect infinitive), not a past tense of lär.

  • Using the report construction when the intended meaning is learning a language.

    Hon lär vara svenska.
    Hon lär sig svenska.

    Hon lär sig svenska means she is learning Swedish. Hon lär vara svenska is a different, grammatical statement: she is said to be Swedish, with svenska meaning a Swedish woman. If you intend language learning, use lär sig plus the language.

How It Connects

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

lär + InfinitiveLevel 4Is Said To/apparently

Learn This First

To understand 'lär + infinitive', you need to be comfortable with Swedish modal verb structures where a finite verb is followed by an infinitive without the marker 'att'. You also need to understand basic word order (V2) to place 'lär' correctly in a sentence.

Words in This Pattern

lär