Passive: bli vs vara, Perfect Passive & Impersonal Constructions

📌 Grammatiknotering

Swedish has three passive constructions: 1) s-passive ('öppnas') focuses on the action itself, rules, or habitual processes; 2) 'bli' + perfekt particip ('blir öppnad') emphasizes a single transition, change of state, or concrete event; 3) 'vara' + perfekt particip ('är öppnad') describes the resulting state.

📌 Grammatiknotering

In the perfect and pluperfect, the s-passive attaches '-s' directly to the supine ('har målats', 'hade skrivits', 'har gjorts'). The periphrastic passive uses 'har/hade blivit' + inflected past participle ('har blivit målad/målat/målade').

📌 Grammatiknotering

Unlike English, Swedish can form an impersonal s-passive even from INTRANSITIVE verbs (verbs without a direct object like dansa, skratta, arbeta, prata) using dummy 'det' as the formal subject to describe general human activity!

📌 Grammatiknotering

When the logical subject of a passive sentence is indefinite ('många nya lagar', 'inga misstag'), Swedish strongly prefers placing dummy 'det' in the subject slot and moving the indefinite noun phrase after the passive verb.

📌 Grammatiknotering

After modal auxiliaries (ska, kan, måste, bör, får, vill), the s-passive is overwhelmingly preferred over 'bli'-passive for general possibilities and obligations: modal + infinitive-s ('kan nås', 'måste lämnas in', 'bör undvikas').

📌 Grammatiknotering

In the s-passive, the particle normally stays separate after the verb ('Lampan släcks ner', 'Mötet ställdes in'), UNLESS the verb is used in a higher stylistic/abstract sense ('Avtalet uppsägs'). In the 'bli/vara' + participle passive, the particle MUST be prefixed to the participle ('Mötet blev inställt')!

📌 Grammatiknotering

Just like in English ('She was offered a job'), Swedish allows the indirect object (recipient) of verbs like 'erbjuda', 'tilldela', 'bevilja', 'neka', and 'ge' to become the grammatical subject of a passive clause while the direct object remains in place.

📌 Grammatiknotering

In formal and journalistic Swedish, passive epistemic verbs ('anses' = be considered, 'uppges' = be stated, 'påstås' = be claimed, 'väntas' = be expected, 'bedöms' = be judged) combine directly with a bare infinitive ('vara', 'ha + supinum', 'öka').

📌 Grammatiknotering

Do not confuse s-passives with true deponent verbs—which ONLY exist in the '-s' form and have an ACTIVE meaning (hoppas, minnas, andas, lyckas, trivas, finnas, tyckas, låtsas)—or absolute s-verbs depicting characteristic behavior ('Hunden bits' = The dog bites).

📌 Grammatiknotering

Over 85% of Swedish passive clauses omit the agent because the actor is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant. When the agent IS specified, it is introduced by the preposition 'av' ('byggdes av en känd arkitekt').