-st Verbs With a Passive Meaning

Level 4

Lyklarnir fundust undir sófanum. (The keys were found under the sofa.) The -st form says what happened, with no doer in the picture.

How It Works

Three common meanings.

  • Can be seen or heard: Esjan sést vel frá Reykjavík (Esja can be seen well from Reykjavík). Tónlistin heyrist vel héðan (The music can be heard well from here).
  • Happened, with nobody named: Lyklarnir mínir týndust en fundust aftur (My keys got lost but were found again). Bókin seldist vel (The book sold well). Ég fæddist á Akureyri (I was born in Akureyri).
  • Changed by itself: Hurðin opnaðist (The door opened). Veðrið breyttist (The weather changed).

-st or vera? Hurðin var opnuð means someone opened the door. Hurðin opnaðist sounds as if it opened by itself. The passive with vera can name the doer with af, but a -st form cannot. To say who did it, use the active: Lögreglan fann lyklana.

Not every verb. This works only when the event can happen without anyone in mind. A verb that needs a doer, such as kaupa (buy), takes the passive with vera: Húsið var keypt í fyrra.

Same form, other meanings. Some of these verbs also mean each other or have an idiom of their own. Við sjáumst! (See you!) is reciprocal, and mér finnst means I think. The sentence shows which meaning is meant.

Tenses. The forms follow -st past and perfect: sást, heyrðist, fannst; supine sést, heyrst, fundist.

Examples (6)

  1. Það sést ekki neitt í þokunni.

    Nothing can be seen in the fog.

    Word by Word: It sees-itself not anything in the-fog.

  2. Lyklarnir fundust undir sófanum.

    The keys were found under the sofa.

    Word by Word: The-keys found-themselves under the-sofa.

  3. Tónlistin heyrist vel héðan.

    The music can be heard well from here.

    Word by Word: The-music hears-itself well from-here.

  4. Bókin seldist mjög vel.

    The book sold very well.

    Word by Word: The-book sold-itself very well.

  5. Veskið mitt týndist í strætó.

    My wallet got lost on the bus.

    Word by Word: The-wallet my lost-itself in bus.

  6. Hurðin opnaðist allt í einu.

    The door suddenly opened.

    Word by Word: The-door opened-itself all in one.

    As far as the speaker knows, nobody opened it.

Common Mistakes

  • Naming the doer with af.

    Lyklarnir fundust af lögreglunni.
    Lögreglan fann lyklana.

    A -st form cannot take af + a doer. To say who found them, use the active verb.

  • Using the active form without an object.

    Lyklarnir fundu undir sófanum.
    Lyklarnir fundust undir sófanum.

    Lyklarnir fundu would mean that the keys found something. The -st ending makes the keys the thing that was found.

  • Using -st with a verb that needs a doer.

    Húsið keyptist í fyrra.
    Húsið var keypt í fyrra.

    Someone has to do the buying, so kaupa uses the passive with vera.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-st Verbs With a Passive MeaningLevel 4

Learn This First

Passive -st builds on -st verbs and the passive.

Words in This Pattern

-st