Particle verbs (or phrasal verbs) aren’t always easy. In fact, tacking on that particle, usually a preposition or adverb, at the end of a verb can really change the meaning of a word. We have them in English too: pick on, look after, make out.

So how do you tell the difference? When speaking (and listening) one important thing to listen for is stress. What word is the stress put on? If the stress is on the verb, it is just a normal verb with a preposition. If the stress is on the particle, you’ve got yourself a particle verb.

Let’s take a look at an example:
Tycker du om din bil?
Here, we see “tycker om” as a particle verb which means, ”Do you like your car?” If you were to say this sentence aloud, the stress would be on “om.”

Vad tycker du om din bil?
Here, we just have the verb “tycker” and the preposition “om.” In this case, the sentence above means, “What do you think about your car?” The stress would be on the word “tycker.”

Looking up the verbs can sometimes help. Many dictionaries include the phrase “med betonad partikel,” which goes on to define the word if stress is put on the particle.

Other tips include listening for specific particles like  “om,” which usually means the verb is being repeated (skriva om – re-write, läsa om – re-read).

I’ve included 20 common particle verbs below: