Swedish Particle Verbs

What are particle verbs?

Particle verbs combine a verb with another word, usually an adverb or preposition, to form a completely new or altered meaning.

Compare the verb komma with:

Particle verb	Meaning	Example
komma ihåg	remember	Jag kommer inte ihåg vad vi gjorde förra sommaren.I don't remember what we did last summer.
komma fram	arrive, get there	Ambulansen kommer inte fram i tid.The ambulance won't get there in time.
komma på	figure out, think of	Kom du på vem det var?Did you figure out who it was?
komma över	get over	Du måste komma över henne.You have to get over her.

The particle is always stressed, except when another word in the sentence carries the main stress. This can make it hard to distinguish between minimal pairs like:

stöta på (run into) and stöta på (hit on)

This is a classic example where a sentence like Jag stötte på hans syster.(I ran into his sister., I hit on his sister.) can mean either that you stumbled upon her or that you hit on her.

Sometimes a particle verb changes very little in meaning and might just add a slight difference in nuance.

Verb	Meaning	Example
tappa	lose, drop	Han har tappat sina nycklar.He has lost his keys.
tappa bort	lose, misplace	Han har tappat bort sina nycklar.He has misplaced his keys.

Sometimes the meaning is impossible to work out from the original verb.

Verb	Meaning	Example
ge	give	Hon gav mig en puss.She gave me a kiss.
ge upp	give up	Boxaren gav upp och kastade in handduken.The boxer gave up and threw in the towel.