The -s Passive | Danish Grammar

The -s passive is Danish's compact, built-in passive: instead of a helping verb you simply glue -s onto the verb itself. Man taler dansk her ("one speaks Danish here") becomes Her tales dansk ("Danish is spoken here"). It is the passive you meet on signs, in recipes, in instructions, in headlines, and after modal verbs — anywhere the message is general, rule-like, or impersonal. Most beginners are taught only the blive-passive, so the -s forms come as a surprise; mastering them is what lets you read everyday Danish text.

How to form the present -s passive

Start from the present tense (the -r form) and replace the -r with -s. That is the whole rule:

Infinitive	Present active	Present -s passive	English
at tale	taler	tales	is spoken
at åbne	åbner	åbnes	is opened
at sælge	sælger	sælges	is sold
at lukke	lukker	lukkes	is closed
at betale	betaler	betales	is paid
at bruge	bruger	bruges	is used

So taler → tales, åbner → åbnes, sælger → sælges. There is no agreement and no extra word — the -s does all the work.

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Think of it as a swap, not an addition: the -r of the present comes off and the -s goes on. Sælger does not become sælgers; it becomes sælges. Forgetting to drop the -r is the single commonest formation slip.

You will also see the -s added to the bare infinitive after a modal verb — that is the kan gøres construction covered below.

Typical uses

The -s passive lives in a particular register. It signals that the statement is general, habitual, rule-like, or impersonal rather than a report of one specific event. Four homes for it:

Notices and signs

Her tales dansk og engelsk.

Danish and English are spoken here. (shop window)

Cyklerne fjernes uden varsel.

The bicycles will be removed without notice. (warning sign)

These are standing facts about a place, not narrations of a single removal. That generality is exactly what the -s passive carries.

Instructions and recipes

Tilsæt salt, og lad det koge i ti minutter.

Add salt and let it boil for ten minutes.

Dejen æltes godt og hæves i en time.

The dough is kneaded well and left to rise for an hour. (recipe)

Recipes and manuals are full of -s passives — blandes (is mixed), skæres (is cut), serveres (is served) — because they describe a repeatable procedure, not a one-time event.

Headlines and official prose

Ny bro åbnes til sommer.

New bridge to open this summer. (headline)

Ansøgningen sendes til kommunen senest den 1. maj.

The application is to be sent to the municipality by 1 May at the latest. (official instructions)

When a modal verb governs a passive, the -s attaches to the infinitive:

Det kan gøres på en time.

It can be done in an hour.

Regningen skal betales inden fredag.

The bill must be paid by Friday.

Døren må ikke åbnes under kørslen.

The door must not be opened while the vehicle is moving. (notice)

Here gøres, betales, åbnes are the -s forms of the infinitives gøre, betale, åbne — note that the modal supplies the tense, so you keep the bare infinitive + s.

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The modal + -s pattern is extremely common and very natural — kan gøres, skal betales, må gøres, bør undgås. English needs the clunky "can be done / must be paid"; Danish just adds one letter. Lean on it.

The past -s passive: rare, and why

In theory the -s passive has a past tense too — -tes or -edes (åbnedes, taltes). In practice it is rare and sounds formal or old-fashioned, and modern Danish almost always uses the blive-passive for past events instead. So while you might read Døren åbnedes in a 19th-century novel, in speech and ordinary writing you say Døren blev åbnet.

Døren blev åbnet klokken otte.

The door was opened at eight. (everyday past — blive-passive, NOT åbnedes)

This is an honest asymmetry worth memorising: the -s passive is the go-to in the present, but for a concrete event in the past you switch to blev + participle. Don't try to force a past -s form just because the present one was so easy.

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A handful of common verbs keep a living past -s passive in fixed, formal phrasing — e.g. fandtes ("existed / was found", Der fandtes ingen løsning). Recognise these as set expressions; do not generalise them into a productive past passive.

Register: -s feels more formal and general

The choice between -s and blive is partly aspect (general vs event) and partly register. The -s passive is more compact, more impersonal, and more formal — which is why it dominates signs, regulations, and academic prose. The blive-passive is the everyday, conversational passive. Saying Maden serveres klokken syv sounds like a printed menu; Maden bliver serveret klokken syv sounds like a person telling you when dinner is.

Der serveres morgenmad fra syv til ti. (formal)

Breakfast is served from seven to ten. (hotel sign)

Maden bliver serveret om lidt. (neutral/spoken)

The food's being served in a moment.

Common Mistakes

❌ Døren åbnedes af vagten i morges.

Stilted/archaic — past -s passive for a concrete event.

✅ Døren blev åbnet af vagten i morges.

The door was opened by the guard this morning. (past event → blive-passive)

For a one-off event in the past, modern Danish uses blev + participle, not the bookish past -s form.

❌ Bilen sælgers næste uge.

Incorrect formation — the -r was kept before -s.

✅ Bilen sælges næste uge.

The car will be sold next week. (drop the -r, add -s)

Replace the present -r with -s: sælger → sælges, not sælgers.

❌ Det kan gøes hurtigt.

Incorrect — wrong stem; the infinitive gøre keeps its r before -s.

✅ Det kan gøres hurtigt.

It can be done quickly. (infinitive gøre + s)

After a modal, add -s to the full infinitive: gøre → gøres, betale → betales, bruge → bruges.

❌ Her bliver talt dansk.

Unidiomatic on a sign — event reading on a general fact.

✅ Her tales dansk.

Danish is spoken here. (general truth → -s passive)

For a standing fact on a notice, the -s passive is the idiomatic choice; blive makes it sound like a one-time event.

Key Takeaways

Form the present -s passive by replacing the present -r with -s: taler → tales, sælger → sælges.
Use it for general, habitual, rule-like statements: signs, recipes, instructions, headlines, official prose.
After modals, add -s to the infinitive: kan gøres, skal betales, må ikke åbnes.
The past -s passive (åbnedes) is rare and formal — for past events use blev
- participle instead.
The -s passive is more formal and general than the everyday blive-passive.

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