befatta
Swedish edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old Swedish befata, from Middle Low German bevaten. By surface analysis, be- + fatta. Cognate of Danish befatte, German befassen, Dutch bevatten.
Verb edit
befatta (present befattar, preterite befattade, supine befattat, imperative befatta)
- (reflexive) to involve oneself (in), to get involved (with), to concern oneself (with), to deal (with) (usually of something or someone one doesn't want to or shouldn't deal with)
- Jag befattar mig inte med politik
- I don't involve myself in politics
- Vi bör inte befatta oss med kriminella organisationer
- We shouldn't get involved with (deal with, have dealings with) criminal organizations
- De bör inte befatta sig med hur vi sköter det
- They shouldn't concern themselves with how we handle it
- Jag vill inte befatta mig med honom alls
- I don't want to have anything to do with him
- befatta sig med kriminella
- associate with criminals
Usage notes edit
To have something to do with, in the opposite sense of to not want to have anything to do with. To associate with or deal with.
Conjugation edit
Conjugation of befatta (weak)
| Active | Passive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | befatta | — | ||
| Supine | befattat | — | ||
| Imperative | befatta | — | ||
| Imper. plural1 | befatten | — | ||
| Present | Past | Present | Past | |
| Indicative | befattar | befattade | — | — |
| Ind. plural1 | befatta | befattade | — | — |
| Subjunctive2 | befatte | befattade | — | — |
| Participles | ||||
| Present participle | befattande | |||
| Past participle | — | |||
| 1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs. | ||||