-ande/-ende
Present Participle
Sova becomes sovande: en sovande katt, a sleeping cat. As a noun modifier, the participle has the same form with en, ett and plural nouns.
How It Works
A present participle (presens particip) can describe an action at the relevant time or a characteristic. It need not refer to the speaker’s present: en sovande katt can occur in a story about yesterday. Some forms have established adjective meanings, such as spännande.
Formation Rules:
The ending depends on the infinitive stem; some shortened verbs use their longer stem:
- For most infinitives in -a, replace final -a with -ande. Short forms such as ta and dra use a longer stem, as noted below. This applies to most verbs, including -ar verbs and many strong verbs.
Example: tala (to speak) → talande (speaking)
Example: skriva (to write) → skrivande (writing) - For many verbs ending in a stressed vowel other than -a, add -ende. Shortened verbs can instead retain a longer stem: ge–givande, bli–blivande, ta–tagande, dra–dragande.
Example: le (to smile) → leende (smiling)
Example: bo (to live) → boende (living)
Usage as an Adjective:
The most common use is as an adjective before a noun. A key rule is that the present participle is indeclinable. It does not change for gender (en/ett) or number (singular/plural), unlike most other adjectives. This is a contrast to the rules of adjective agreement.
- en leende flicka (a smiling girl)
- ett leende barn (a smiling child)
- två leende flickor (two smiling girls)
Describing the Subject During an Action:
A participle can be predicative, characterizing the subject as part of the event. With komma, it describes the manner of arrival. A free predicative such as sjungande can describe an accompanying activity.
- Barnet kom springande. (The child came running.)
- Hon gick sjungande genom parken. (She walked singing through the park.)
The same endings occur in productive action nouns: ett leende, leendet (a smile, the smile), resande (traveling). These are not counterexamples to participle agreement: they function as nouns. Some person-denoting words also have noun inflection, such as ordföranden. Check the role of the word before deciding whether an ending can be added.
Examples (5)
- En leende flicka öppnade dörren.
A smiling girl opened the door.
Word by Word: A smiling girl opened the door.
Here, 'leende' (from 'le', to smile) is an adjective describing the noun 'flicka' (girl).
- Det kokande vattnet är väldigt varmt.
The boiling water is very hot.
Word by Word: The boiling water is very hot.
'kokande' (from 'koka', to boil) describes the water. Note that it doesn't change form even with the definite noun 'vattnet'.
- Han kom gående längs vägen.
He came walking along the road.
Word by Word: He came walking along the road.
Gående is a present participle functioning predicatively with kom; it describes his manner of arrival. Its word class is not changed into an adverb merely because English translates it as a manner expression.
- Det är en mycket spännande historia.
It is a very exciting story.
Word by Word: It is a very exciting story.
'spännande' is a very common present participle used as a standard adjective for 'exciting'.
- Alla sovande djur ser fridfulla ut.
All sleeping animals look peaceful.
Word by Word: All sleeping animals look peaceful.
This shows that the participle 'sovande' remains unchanged even when the noun 'djur' is plural.
Common Mistakes
Using a present participle as an English-style progressive after är.
Jag är springande i parken just nu.Jag springer i parken just nu.For I am running in the park right now, use the simple present springer. Swedish does not freely form a progressive with är + participle. Action nouns in -ande do exist: springande can be a noun, so Springande är bra för hälsan is not categorically ungrammatical. Att springa är bra för hälsan is another ordinary way to name the activity.
Trying to make the participle agree with the noun's gender or number.
Ett leendet barn. / De leenda barnen.Ett leende barn. / De leende barnen.The present participle is indeclinable. It always keeps its -ande/-ende form, regardless of whether the noun is 'en', 'ett', or plural. This is an exception to normal adjective rules.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the Swedish present participle (-ande/-ende), you first need a solid grasp of basic verb conjugation to correctly identify the verb stems. It is also important to understand how adjectives function in Swedish, as these participles often act as verbal adjectives or adverbs describing an ongoing action or state.
- Adjective agreement
Since the present participle often functions as an adjective, learners need to understand how adjectives behave in Swedish sentences, even though the -ande/-ende form itself is indeclinable.
Level 1 - attTo (Infinitive Marker)
The present participle is often used in contexts where an infinitive (with 'att') might otherwise be used, and distinguishing between verbal nouns and participles requires knowledge of the infinitive.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- -d/-t/-dd/-ttPast Participle (Adjectives)
Compare en arbetande person, a person working, with en stängd dörr, a closed door. Present participles can describe an activity or characteristic; past participles can describe a result or a passive property and normally agree like adjectives.
Level 2 - -arFirst Conjugation Verbs
Verbs in this group have an infinitive ending in -a, so they always form the present participle by replacing -a with -ande (e.g., 'tala' -> 'talande').
Level 1 - -erSecond Conjugation Verbs
The formation rule is not based on the verb group but on the infinitive ending. Many -er verbs end in -a (e.g., 'läsa', 'stänga') and thus take '-ande' ('läsande', 'stängande').
Level 1 - Past tense (strong verbs)
Many strong verbs have infinitives ending in -a (e.g., 'skriva', 'springa') and form their present participle by replacing the -a with -ande ('skrivande', 'springande').
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice -ande/-ende in Bubblegum
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