befalla

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish befælla, Borrowed from Middle Low German befallen. By surface analysis, be- +‎ falla. Displaced native bjuda in this sense.

Verb

befalla (present befaller, preterite befallde, supine befallt, imperative befall)

1. order, command

Usage notes

• This verb has weak conjugation, even though falla has the strong one (föll, fallit). It is a common mistake to write beföll, befallit.

Conjugation

Conjugation of befalla (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	befalla		befallas
Supine	befallt		befallts
Imperative	befall		—
Imper. plural1	befallen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	befaller	befallde	befalls, befalles	befalldes
Ind. plural1	befalla	befallde	befallas	befalldes
Subjunctive2	befalle	befallde	befalles	befalldes
	Participles
Present participle	befallande
Past participle	befalld
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

• befallning

Further reading

• befalla in Svensk ordbok.