Breakdown of Kvinden anmeldte tyven efter at montren var blevet åbnet.
være
to be
kvinden
the woman
åbne
to open
tyven
the thief
Questions & Answers about Kvinden anmeldte tyven efter at montren var blevet åbnet.
How does the past perfect blive-passive work here, and why do we use var instead of havde?
To say "had been opened", Danish uses three parts: var + blevet + åbnet (past participle of the main verb). A common trap for English speakers is wanting to use havde (had) instead of var (was). However, the helper verb for at blive (to become/be) is always at være (to be). So, "had been" is always var blevet, never havde blevet.
Why does åbnet end in -t? Would it change if the noun was an en-word?
Montren (the display case) actually is an en-word (en montre). In the blive-passive, the past participle of the main verb always ends in -t for all singular subjects, regardless of whether they are en-words or et-words. (If the subject were plural, like "the display cases", it would take an -e ending: var blevet åbnede).
Why do we need at after efter in this sentence?
Efter by itself is a preposition used before a noun, like efter frokost (after lunch). When "after" introduces a whole new clause with its own subject and verb (the display case had been opened), Danish traditionally uses the conjunction efter at. While you will hear native speakers drop the at in casual speech, keeping it is standard and correct in writing.
Why isn't the verb inverted in the second part of the sentence ()?