verbsklass

Verbsklass is a term used in linguistics and Swedish grammar to categorize verbs that share the same pattern of inflection. A verb class is a set of verbs that conjugate in the same way across tenses and moods, allowing learners and grammars to predict forms from a verb’s infinitive or stem. Different languages divide verbs into different numbers of classes, and the exact classification may vary by tradition or reference grammar. In some languages there are strong and weak verb distinctions; in others there are many subtypes.

In Swedish, the traditional division distinguishes strong verbs (starka verb) and weak verbs (svaga verb), with further subdivisions within the weak group that are called verb classes. Strong verbs typically form past tense by changing the stem vowel and have a supine form, as in gå (present går, past gick, supine gått) or dricka (dricker, drack,druckit). Weak verbs form the past tense with a dental suffix, and the supine by -t or -tt; examples include prata (pratar, pratade, pratat) and kalla (kallar, kallade, kallat). The exact number and names of weak classes differ among grammars, but they share the property of relatively regular endings.

Usage and note: In modern Swedish, verbsklass is often taught in school as a practical shortcut, but many verbs may show irregularities that require memorization. In broader linguistics, verb classes are a theoretical device to describe morphophonological patterns; classification can be useful for historical reconstruction and for computational models of morphology. The concept also appears in other Germanic languages, with similar strong/weak verb patterns.