The past s-passive (-ades, -des)

The Past S-Passive

You can create the passive voice by adding an -s to the end of a verb. The passive voice is especially useful for historical events where the action or structure is more important than who built it.

For verbs with the simple past ending -ade, the passive ending becomes -ades.

The city was founded a hundred years ago.
Staden grundades för hundra år sedan.

Specifying the Actor

To mention who performed the action, use the preposition av (by).

The old fortress was founded by the king.
Den gamla fästningen grundades av kungen.
The town hall was designed by a famous architect.
Rådhuset ritades av en känd arkitekt.

The -des Ending

For verbs with the simple past ending -de, add an -s to get -des.

Last year the beautiful cemetery was inaugurated.
I fjol invigdes den vackra kyrkogården.
Unfortunately, the fortress was destroyed in the war.
Tyvärr förstördes fästningen i kriget.

You can combine these forms to describe a sequence of events:

The bridge was destroyed first, but it was renovated later.
Bron förstördes först, men den renoverades senare.
The new church was designed and inaugurated the same year.
Den nya kyrkan ritades och invigdes samma år.