Some contrastive points in Swedish and English - Verbs

Some more thoughts from aforementioned train ride:

We also established that there is no proper (or, at least, usable) progressive verb form in Swedish - at least not one that is used predicatively. 

   While in English you would say "I am singing" (implying that you are currently in the act of singing something, and somehow simultaneously explaining it), using the corresponding Swedish form "Jag är sjungande" does not work. We would simply say "Jag sjunger" ("I sing"), or perhaps add more words like "Jag håller på att sjunga" ("I am in the act of singing").

   This also applies to cases where there is an important distinction in English. Saying "I am playing the piano" in Swedish would simply be "Jag spelar piano" - but in English, "I play the piano" does not imply that you're currently in the act of playing, just that you know how to play the piano. There is no grammatical difference in Swedish, and you have to guess whether it means that he/she is currently playing the piano, or just knows how to play but may not be doing it at this very moment. Usually, this is clear from the context. 

   After being put off by the nouns, my English travelling companion seemed at least somewhat relieved when I told him that verbs in Swedish do not change depending on who it concerns. This makes it a lot easier than, say, German - and the only distinction that I can think of in English is the 3rd person singular.