Breakdown of Varen bliver solgt i butikken.
i
in
butikken
the shop
sælge
to sell
blive
to be (passive auxiliary)
Questions & Answers about Varen bliver solgt i butikken.
Why do we use bliver here instead of er?
We use bliver plus a past participle like solgt to form the action passive. It focuses on the action taking place. If we said Varen er solgt, it would describe a finished state, meaning the product has already been sold. Varen bliver solgt means the product is actively being sold or gets sold.
What is the dictionary form of the verb solgt?
It comes from at sælge (to sell). In Danish passive sentences, you use the past participle of the main verb. Just like in English where 'sell' becomes 'sold', sælge becomes solgt.
Could we use the s-passive (sælges) instead of the blive-passive here?
Yes, you could say Varen sælges i butikken and it means the exact same thing. The s-passive is often used for general facts, signs, or formal text, while the blive-passive is very common in everyday speech to describe an action.
Why are there endings on Varen and butikken?
These are the definite forms of the nouns. En vare means a product, so adding the suffix makes it varen (the product). Similarly, en butik means a shop, so adding the suffix makes it butikken (the shop). Notice that butik adds an extra 'k' before the ending to keep the vowel short.