Learn Swedish: Är båten målad nu? - Is the boat painted now?

The word målad is a past participle, which is a verb form acting like an adjective to describe båten. Because en båt is an en-word and is singular, the descriptive word takes the en-word ending -d. If the subject were an ett-word like huset (the house), it would be målat, and for plural subjects, it would be målade.

Is målad related to the verb att måla (to paint)?

Yes! To turn the verb att måla into a descriptive word, you take the stem måla and add -d for singular en-words. This turns the action of painting into a state, showing that the boat is currently in a painted condition.

Why don't we use har målat if the boat was painted in the past?

The phrase har målat means 'has painted' and is used when someone actively did the painting, like in 'Han har målat båten' (He has painted the boat). Using är målad (is painted) removes the person doing the action and focuses completely on the boat's current state.

How does the word order work in this question?