Past Participles as Adjectives
Past participles work like adjectives: Búðin er lokuð (The shop is closed), Glasið er brotið (The glass is broken).
How It Works
Three main patterns.
- -aður from -a verbs: loka → lokaður, lokuð, lokað (closed); opna → opnaður (opened)
- -ður, -dur, -tur from other weak verbs: byggja → byggður (built), selja → seldur (sold), læsa → læstur (locked)
- -inn from strong verbs: brjóta → brotinn, brotin, brotið (broken); sjóða → soðinn (boiled); taka → tekinn (taken)
Agreement after vera. Match the subject's gender and number, as in adjective agreement:
- Bíllinn er seldur. (masculine)
- Búðin er lokuð. (feminine)
- Glasið er brotið. (neuter)
- Dyrnar eru læstar. (The door is locked. dyr is a feminine plural noun.)
Before a noun. The participle declines like any adjective, with strong endings without the article and weak endings with it: soðin egg (boiled eggs), brotið glas (a broken glass), brotna glasið (the broken glass).
State, action or supine? Búðin er lokuð describes a state. The same agreeing form makes the passive, where an action is done to the subject: Húsið var byggt árið 1920. After hafa, use the supine, which never changes: Ég hef lokað búðinni. See supine or participle.
Examples (6)
- Búðin er lokuð.
The shop is closed.
Word by Word: The shop is closed.
búð is feminine, so lokuð.
- Glasið er brotið.
The glass is broken.
Word by Word: The glass is broken.
- Bíllinn er seldur.
The car is sold.
Word by Word: The car is sold.
- Dyrnar eru læstar.
The door is locked.
Word by Word: The doors are locked.
dyr is a feminine plural noun, so the participle is feminine plural: læstar.
- Ég borða oft soðin egg í morgunmat.
I often eat boiled eggs for breakfast.
Word by Word: I eat often boiled eggs in morning-food.
- Hann fann brotna glasið undir borðinu.
He found the broken glass under the table.
Word by Word: He found broken glass-the under the table.
With the article, the participle takes the weak form brotna.
Common Mistakes
Using the neuter form with a feminine noun.
Búðin er lokað.Búðin er lokuð.The participle agrees with búð, which is feminine, so it must be lokuð.
Forgetting plural agreement.
Gluggarnir eru brotið.Gluggarnir eru brotnir.gluggi is masculine, and the subject is plural, so the participle is brotnir.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Participles as adjectives build on strong endings and vera kominn.
Related Patterns
- Adjectives Agree With Nouns
Participles follow the same agreement rules as adjectives.
Level 1 - The Passive (vera + Participle)
The same agreeing participle forms the passive.
Level 3 - Supine or Participle?
Explains when to use the unchanging supine and when the agreeing participle.
Level 4 - Adjectives Before a Definite Noun
Endings for participles with the article, such as brotna glasið.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Past Participles as Adjectives in Bubblegum
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