Inchoative Verb - Swedish

Swedish

In Swedish, inchoative verbs end in -na. Some examples and their non-inchoative counterparts:

• att blekna, to go pale; att bleka, to bleach
• att tystna, to fall silent; att tysta, to silence
• att fastna, to get stuck; att fästa, to attach
• att hårdna, to be hardened; att härda, to harden
• att kallna, to become cold; att kyla, to cool
• att ruttna, to rot; att röta, to cause something to rot

This class of verbs is today not productive, and the umlaut relationship between some inchoative verbs and their non-inchoative counterparts indicates that they in fact are quite old.