Breakdown of Han tror at metroen er blevet udvidet.
være
to be
han
he
at
that
tro
to believe
blive
to be (passive auxiliary)
metroen
the subway
udvide
to expand
Questions & Answers about Han tror at metroen er blevet udvidet.
Why does the Danish sentence use er blevet instead of "har blevet" for "has been"?
In Danish, the passive voice is often formed using the verb blive (to become/be). When putting blive into the present perfect tense, it requires the auxiliary verb være (to be) rather than have (to have). Therefore, "has been" translates to er blevet, not "har blevet".
How is the passive voice constructed in the phrase er blevet udvidet?
This is the present perfect blive-passive. It is built using the present tense of være (er) + the past participle of blive (blevet) + the past participle of the main verb (udvidet). Because of the auxiliary verb, it literally translates to "is become expanded."
Could I use synes instead of tror in this sentence?
No. You use tror when you are guessing or stating a belief about a factual situation that you aren't completely sure about. Synes is strictly used for personal, subjective opinions (for example, if he thought the expanded subway was ugly).
Where would the word ikke go if he believed the subway had NOT been expanded?
It would go right before the verb er, making it: Han tror at metroen ikke er blevet udvidet. This is because at metroen... is a subordinate clause, and in subordinate clauses, short adverbs like ikke must be placed before the first verb.
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