A couple of weeks ago a commenter was asking about the use of “vill,” so we thought we would put together a quick overview of some other helping verbs used in Swedish.

Below you will find a quick list of some common helping verbs:
Vill = to want to
Behöver = to need to
Ska = to have to
Kan = to be able
Får = to be allowed to
Brukar = usually (used to)
Måste = to have to (must)

Usually when making simple statements in Swedish, we follow the simple SVO word order (Subject, Verb, Object). When we begin using helping verbs, we follow that general pattern but add a second verb. That second verb is used in the infinitive. For example:

Subject – Verb – Verb (Infinitive) – Object
Han vill åka till Sverige.
He wants to travel to Sweden.

“Vill” is in the present tense and “åka” is in the infinitive form.

If we are writing short questions in Swedish, we follow the VSO word order (Verb, Subject, Object). When using a helping verb, we once again follow a similar pattern with a slight addition. The helping verb is used in the present tense to start the sentence and the second verb is put in the infinitive form between the subject and the object. For example:

Verb + Subject + Verb (Infinitive) + Object
Vill han åka till Sverige?
Does he want to travel to Sweden?

Again, “vill” is in the present tense and “åka” is in the infinitive form.

And finally, sometimes we like to add the classic question words to the question like who, what, when, where, why, and how. In that case, we follow the above formula Verb + Subject + Verb (Infinitive) + Object and just add the question word to the beginning of the question. Pretty straightforward really. So, using the same example sentence as above:

Question Word + Verb + Subject +Verb (Infinitive) + Object
Varför vill han åka till Sverige?
Why does he want to travel to Sweden?

You’ll notice that the sentence is exactly the same as above with “vill” in the present tense, “åka” in the infinitive form. The only addition is the question word “varför” at the beginning of the sentence.

Now you’re ready to start putting together more complex sentences with more than one verb. Good luck!