-s (passiv)
-s Passive Voice
Compare öppnar → öppnas, stänger → stängs, and läser → läses. Other useful pairs are läste → lästes, läsa → läsas, and läst → lästs.
How It Works
The s-passive can present an affected participant as subject, with an optional av-phrase naming the performer or cause. Its form depends on the tense or nonfinite form:
- Present Tense: Use the stem plus -s or -es, not the active -r ending: öppnar → öppnas, stänger → stängs, läser → läses. An s-final stem takes -es, as in läses. With many other consonant-final stems, the longer -es form is more formal: stängs/stänges.
- Past Tense: Add -s to the past tense form. Ex: läste (read) → lästes (was read).
- Infinitive: Add -s to the infinitive form. Ex: läsa (to read) → läsas (to be read). This is used after modal verbs like kan, ska, måste.
- Supine: Add -s to the supine form. Ex: läst (read) → lästs (been read). This is used after har and hade.
Usage:
Common contexts include:
- Instructions and Recipes: Först kokas vattnet. (First, the water is boiled.)
- Formal Announcements & Rules: Dörren stängs kl. 18.00. (The door is closed at 6:00 PM.)
- News Headlines: Ny lag föreslås av regeringen. (New law is proposed by the government.)
- General Statements: Svenska talas i Sverige. (Swedish is spoken in Sweden.)
It's important to distinguish the s-passive from the bli-passive, which often emphasizes an event or change. Both constructions can describe a particular event; the difference is not a ban on s-passives in speech. Also, be aware of deponent verbs like hoppas (to hope) or finns (to exist), which end in -s but are active, not passive.
Specific Events And StatesHjälp, min plånbok stjäls! is not ruled out because the theft is happening now. Hjälp, min plånbok blir stulen! is another passive formulation. An active appeal may also be natural. Choose according to the event and conversational context, rather than treating all immediate events as incompatible with -s.
Dörren stängs describes closing, while Dörren är stängd describes its closed state. This is a useful contrast, but not every vara-passive denotes a completed earlier event: Hon är älskad describes an ongoing relation.
Examples (5)
- Boken måste läsas innan fredag.
The book must be read before Friday.
Word by Word: The book must be-read before Friday.
Here, the s-passive 'läsas' is used after the modal verb 'måste' (must).
- Dörrarna stängs automatiskt.
The doors are closed automatically.
Word by Word: The doors are-closed automatically.
A general statement describing a repeated action or a feature. 'stängs' is the present tense s-passive of 'stänger' (closes).
- Mötet hölls i tisdags.
The meeting was held last Tuesday.
Word by Word: The meeting was-held in Tuesday.
'hölls' is the past tense s-passive of 'höll' (held). This is common in formal reports.
- Huset såldes förra året.
The house was sold last year.
Word by Word: The house was-sold last year.
Past passive
såldes, fromsålde, describes a particular sale. The seller is not named; the buyer would be a different participant, not the agent of selling. - Informationen kan hittas på vår hemsida.
The information can be found on our website.
Word by Word: The information can be-found on our homepage.
A common use in instructions or informational texts. 'hittas' is the infinitive s-passive used with 'kan' (can).
Common Mistakes
Keeping the active present r before the passive ending.
Boken läsers av många.Boken läses av många.Present passive is
läses, from stemläsplus-es. Do not attach s to the whole active presentläser. Other forms retain their endings:lästes,lästs.Confusing s-passive verbs with deponent verbs.
Jag skäms av mina föräldrar. (Intended: My parents embarrass me.)Mina föräldrar skämmer ut mig.Skämsis a deponent meaning be ashamed, not the passive ofskämma ut. For the intended meaning “My parents embarrass me”, useMina föräldrar skämmer ut mig. A sentence about being ashamed would describe a different relation.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the s-passive, you first need a solid grasp of Swedish verb conjugations and tenses, as the passive suffix '-s' is attached to these existing forms. Additionally, knowing the preposition 'av' is necessary to identify who or what is performing the action in a passive construction.
- Basic verb conjugation
The s-passive is formed by modifying the active verb forms, so understanding how verbs are conjugated in their base forms is essential.
Foundations - Tense concepts
The -s suffix is applied differently depending on the tense (present, past, or infinitive), requiring knowledge of how tenses function.
Foundations - avOf/by
The preposition 'av' is used to indicate the agent (the 'by' phrase) in a passive sentence.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- bli + Past ParticipleBecome Passive
Both s-passive and bli-passive can describe specific events. Bli often foregrounds an event or change; register preferences are tendencies, not rules excluding s-passive from ordinary speech.
Level 3 - vara + Past ParticipleBe Passive (State)
Vara plus participle often describes a state, as in
Level 3Dörren är stängd. Some constructions describe an ongoing relation, as inHon är älskad, without requiring a completed preceding event. - Deponent -s verbs
Deponent verbs look like s-passive verbs because they end in -s (e.g., 'hoppas' - to hope), but they are active in meaning. It's a common point of confusion.
Level 3 - manOne/you (Impersonal)
The impersonal pronoun 'man' ('one'/'you') is often used as an active alternative to the passive voice. Instead of 'Det sägs att...' (It is said that...), you can say 'Man säger att...' (One says that...).
Level 3 - har + SupinePerfect Tense
Shows how the passive voice interacts with the perfect tense. The s-passive has a supine form that combines with 'har' or 'hade', for example: 'Problemet har diskuterats' (The problem has been discussed).
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice -s (passiv) in Bubblegum
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