Arbeta

Arbeta is a Swedish verb meaning “to work” or “to operate.” It is a common verb used to describe employment, physical labor, and the functioning of machines or systems. The verb appears in everyday speech as well as formal writing and covers activities ranging from paid work to tasks in projects or laboratories.

Grammatical profile and forms. Infinitive: arbeta. Present tense: arbetar. Past tense (preterite): arbetade. Supine (used with have/had to form perfect tenses): arbetat. Imperative: arbeta! The verb has a present passive form, arbeta s, as in det arbetas (it is being worked). The past passive is arbetades (was/were worked). The perfect tense is formed with har or hade: jag har arbetat, jag hade arbetat. The verb can take prepositions such as arbeta med (to work with) and arbeta för (to work for).

Noun form and related terms. The related noun arbete means “work” or “labor” and is the primary substantive corresponding to arbeta. In definite form the noun becomes arbetet. The noun can refer to a job, a task, or the act of working, as in frihetens möjlighet jämfört med arbete (the freedom versus work). The verb is often contrasted with the more informal synonym jobba, which is common in everyday speech.

Etymology and cognates. Arbeta is related to the noun arbete and to cognate forms in other Scandinavian languages, such as Danish arbejde and Norwegian arbeid/arbeide, and to German arbeiten and English work. The family resemblance reflects shared Germanic roots for the concept of labor and activity.

Usage notes. Swedish uses arbeta for both routine and formal contexts. The language does not encode continuous aspect with a separate present progressive form; phrases like håller på att arbeta or arbetar just nu may be used to emphasize ongoing action.