The present s-passive
In Swedish, when you want to describe an action without focusing on who is performing it, use the passive voice. This is especially common in recipes, manuals, and instructions.
To form the present s-passive, take the active present tense verb and replace the final -r (or -er) with -s.
- skalar (peels) becomes skalas (is peeled)
- gräddar (bakes) becomes gräddas (is baked)
- värmer (heats) becomes värms (is heated)
| The onion is peeled and chopped. | Löken skalas och hackas. |
| The cake is baked in the oven. | Kakan gräddas i ugnen. |
| The water is heated in the saucepan and the salt is added. | Vattnet värms i kastrullen och saltet tillsätts. |
Rules and general statements
The s-passive is also the standard way to express general rules, such as what is permitted in a public space.
| No mobile phones are allowed when the food is served. | Inga mobiler tillåts när maten serveras. |
| The large cars are not allowed in the park. | De stora bilarna tillåts inte i parken. |
Describing a process
Instructions often chain multiple actions together. You will frequently see passive verbs combined with conjunctions like och (and) or innan (before) to describe a step-by-step sequence.
| The fresh vegetables are peeled, chopped, and mixed in the saucepan. | De färska grönsakerna skalas, hackas och blandas i kastrullen. |
| The bottle is shaken before the milk is heated. | Flaskan skakas innan mjölken värms. |
Specifying the doer with "av"
Although the passive voice emphasizes the action itself, you can still mention who performs it using the preposition av (by).
| The chef usually cooks the food, but the bread is baked by the baker. | Kocken brukar laga maten, men brödet bakas av bagaren. |
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