Questions & Answers about Är räkningen betald?
Why do we use betald here instead of betalat?
In Swedish, there is a difference between an action like 'have paid' and a state like 'is paid'. When you say 'I have paid' (jag har betalat), you use a verb form called the supine. But here, 'paid' acts as an adjective describing the bill's current state. This is called the past participle, and unlike the supine, it changes its ending to match the noun it describes.
Why does the past participle end in -d (betald)?
Because it must match the noun it describes! Räkning (bill) is an en-word, so the participle takes the en-word ending. For the verb att betala, the en-word form is betald. If we were describing an ett-word, it would end in -t (betalt), and for plural nouns it would end in -da (betalda).
How can I tell that räkningen is an en-word just by looking at this sentence?
There are two great clues right here! First, the word for 'the bill' ends in -en (räkningen). Second, the adjective describing it ends in -d (betald), which is the standard agreement for en-words.
Could I say Blir räkningen betald? instead?
You could, but it changes the meaning. Är räkningen betald? asks about the current state: 'Is the bill (already) paid?'. If you use blir (becomes/gets), you are asking about an action or the future: 'Is the bill getting paid?' or 'Will the bill be paid?'.
Learn Är räkningen betald and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free