teritum

Teritum is the term used in Swedish grammar for the simple past tense, also known as the preterite in English. It is used to describe actions or states that were completed in the past and is common in narrative and descriptive contexts. In Norwegian grammar, the corresponding tense is usually called preteritum; teritum is primarily a Swedish designation, though some Nordic grammars discuss the concept across languages.

Forms and conjugation: The teritum forms distinguish regular and irregular verbs. Regular Swedish verbs form teritum by adding a suffix to the stem, with common endings such as -ade, -de, or -te depending on phonology. For example, verbs ending in -a often take -ade in the teritum (prata -> pratade). Irregular verbs often depend on stem changes or irregular suffixes (for example, vara -> var). A verb’s teritum is typically used without an auxiliary and contrasts with perfekt (present perfect), which uses har/ha + past participle.

Usage and function: Teritum marks completed past events or states and is used in simple narrative sequences, historical descriptions, and reports of past events. It can coexist with time expressions like igår (yesterday) or förra veckan (last week), but may also appear without explicit time markers when the past is understood from context.

Related terms: In English grammar, teritum corresponds to the simple past or preterite. The concept also appears in other Germanic-language grammars under various labels; in Danish and Norwegian, the equivalent tense is usually termed præteritum or preteritum, respectively.