ätit

ätit is the past participle of the Swedish verb äta, meaning to eat. In standard usage it appears primarily in perfect and pluperfect tenses with auxiliary verbs, most commonly har (have) and hade (had). Examples include Jag har ätit frukost and Vi hade ätit innan filmen började. The simple past tense of äta is åt.

Grammatical notes: As a participle, ätit does not inflect for person or number when used with auxiliary verbs. It serves to convey completed action in compound tenses. While rarely used on its own as a finite form, its primary function is to combine with helpers to form verbs like har ätit or hade ätit.

Usage considerations: In everyday speech, såväl har ätit as a fixed expression is common. The form can appear in longer clauses addressing meals, appetite, or nutrition, for example När jag kom hem hade jag redan ätit, or Jag har inte ätit sedan frukost. The simple past form åt is used for straightforward narration of a past action, while ätit signals a completed action relative to another event.

Etymology and related forms: ätit derives from the Swedish verb äta, with roots in Old Norse eta and related Proto-Germanic forms. It is cognate with past participles in neighboring Germanic languages. The corresponding simple past is åt, and the infinitive is äta.

See also: Swedish verb äta; Swedish past tenses; compound tenses.