The Passive (vera + Participle)

Level 3

vera + past participle makes the passive: Húsið var byggt árið 1920 (The house was built in 1920).

How It Works

How it is built. vera in the present or past + a past participle. The participle agrees with the subject in gender, number and case:

  • Bókin er skrifuð á ensku. (The book is written in English.) Feminine.
  • Húsið var byggt árið 1920. (The house was built in 1920.) Neuter.
  • Íslendingasögurnar voru skrifaðar á 13. og 14. öld. (The Sagas of Icelanders were written in the 13th and 14th centuries.) Feminine plural.

Naming the doer. Use af + dative: Sjálfstætt fólk var skrifað af Halldóri Laxness (Independent People was written by Halldór Laxness).

Tense. The tense is carried by vera: er skrifuð (is written), var byggt (was built). The perfect uses hafa + verið: Húsið hefur verið selt (The house has been sold). For a future event or a change, Icelandic uses verða: Húsið verður byggt í sumar, see passive with verða.

Dative objects stay dative. A verb whose object is dative keeps the dative in the passive, and the participle stays in the neuter singular: Honum var hjálpað (He was helped), Búðinni var lokað (The shop was closed). See dative passive and dative verbs.

Passive or state? The same words can describe a result: Glugginn var brotinn can mean "the window was broken (by someone)" or "the window was in a broken state". A time phrase or an af-phrase points to the action.

Examples (6)

  1. Húsið var byggt árið 1920.

    The house was built in 1920.

    Word by Word: The house was built the year 1920.

  2. Bókin er skrifuð á ensku.

    The book is written in English.

    Word by Word: The book is written in English.

    bók is feminine, so skrifuð.

  3. Sjálfstætt fólk var skrifað af Halldóri Laxness.

    Independent People was written by Halldór Laxness.

    Word by Word: Independent people was written by Halldór Laxness.

    The doer follows af in the dative: Halldóri.

  4. Hann var handtekinn í gær.

    He was arrested yesterday.

    Word by Word: He was arrested yesterday.

  5. Húsið hefur verið selt.

    The house has been sold.

    Word by Word: The house has been sold.

  6. Honum var hjálpað.

    He was helped.

    Word by Word: Him (dative) was helped.

    hjálpa takes a dative object, so the passive keeps honum and the neuter hjálpað.

Common Mistakes

  • Not making the participle agree with the subject.

    Bókin er skrifað á ensku.
    Bókin er skrifuð á ensku.

    In the passive the participle agrees with the subject. bók is feminine, so use skrifuð.

  • Turning a dative object into a nominative subject.

    Hann var hjálpaður.
    Honum var hjálpað.

    hjálpa takes a dative object, and the dative stays in the passive. The participle is the neuter singular hjálpað.

  • Marking the doer with hjá instead of af.

    Bókin var skrifuð hjá Halldóri Laxness.
    Bókin var skrifuð af Halldóri Laxness.

    hjá means at someone's place. The doer in a passive sentence follows af.

How It Connects

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The Passive (vera + Participle)Level 3

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The passive builds on participles and var.

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Words in This Pattern

veravaraf