behövt

Behövt is the supine form of the Swedish verb behöva, which means to need or to be necessary. It is most commonly used with the auxiliary har to form perfect tenses in active voice, indicating that something has been needed. It also appears in impersonal passive constructions with behövts, which express that something has been needed in general.

Forms and usage

The present tense of behöva is behöver, for example Jag behöver hjälp. The simple past (preterite) form is behövde, as in Vi behövde mer tid. The supine or past participle, behövt, is used with har to form perfect tenses, for example Jag har behövt din hjälp or Vi har behövt mer tid. In passive constructions, the past passive participle behövts is used, as in Det har behövts mer tid.

Common expressions and nuances

Behöva expresses necessity or usefulness rather than obligation in the stronger sense of måste. It is often negated as inte behöva or behöva inte (not needing to). In impersonal statements, Det behövs is used to say that something is needed in general, for example Det behövs fler sängar. The verb can refer to needs of people, objects, or situations, and can be followed by a direct object in many contexts (something that is needed).

Related notes

Because behöva is defective, its forms are relatively irregular compared with fully conjugated verbs, and usage can shift slightly with tense and voice. In everyday language, många speakers still rely on behövt in perfect constructions, while behövts marks the passive past participle in corresponding sentences.