Breakdown of Kvart över åtta öppnas dörren.
dörren
the door
öppna
to open
åtta
eight
över
over / past (in clock times)
kvarten
the quarter
Questions & Answers about Kvart över åtta öppnas dörren.
Why isn't there an "en" before kvart, like "a quarter" in English?
In Swedish time-telling, you just say kvart on its own, not en kvart, when talking about the exact time on the clock. So "a quarter past eight" is simply kvart över åtta.
Could I use efter instead of över to mean "past" the hour?
No, when reading the clock, Swedish always uses över for times past the hour. To say it's a quarter to the hour, you use the preposition i, like in kvart i nio (a quarter to nine).
Why does it say öppnas dörren (is opened the door) instead of dörren öppnas?
Because Swedish uses the V2 (verb-second) rule! The verb must be the second block of information in the sentence. The first block is the time phrase Kvart över åtta. Since that takes up the first spot, the verb öppnas must come second, and the subject dörren moves to the third spot.
What does the "s" at the end of öppnas do?
That s makes the verb passive. The regular active present tense verb is öppnar (opens). When you drop the r and add s, it becomes öppnas, which means "is opened" or "is being opened". It's a very common way to describe an action without saying exactly who is doing it.
Learn Kvart över åtta öppnas dörren 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