Breakdown of Tjuven blir arresterad av polisen nu.
nu
now
polisen
the police officer
bli
to become
av
of, by / from (cause)
tjuven
the thief
arrestera
to arrest
Questions & Answers about Tjuven blir arresterad av polisen nu.
Why use blir instead of är when the English translation says "is"?
In Swedish, using blir (becomes) + a past participle forms the "dynamic passive." It focuses on the action or the process happening right now ("is being arrested"). If we used är arresterad, it would describe a completed state, meaning the thief is already in custody.
Why does arresterad end with a -d here?
When you use a past participle with bli (to become) or vara (to be), it works like an adjective and must agree with the subject. Because tjuven (the thief) is a singular en-word, arresterad gets the standard -d ending. If the subject were plural, like tjuvarna (the thieves), it would change to arresterade.
Is av the normal word for "by" in passive sentences?
Yes! While av often translates to "of" or "off" in other contexts, in passive sentences it is the exact equivalent of "by." It introduces the "agent"—the person or thing actually performing the action, which in this sentence is polisen.
Why is polisen used in the definite form here?
Just like in English, we are talking about the specific institution carrying out the action, so we use the definite form polisen (the police). Keep in mind that in Swedish, polisen is treated as a singular noun, whereas English treats "the police" as plural.
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