Breakdown of De stulna bilarna blev aldrig ersatta, vilket var ännu värre.
vara
to be
bilen
the car
aldrig
never
vilket
which (ett) / what a (ett-word, exclamatory)
de
the (plural, before adjective)
bli
to become
ännu
yet / even (with comparative)
stulen
stolen
ersatt
replaced
värre
worse
Questions & Answers about De stulna bilarna blev aldrig ersatta, vilket var ännu värre.
How does ännu värre differ from mycket värre in this context?
In this sentence, ännu translates to 'even', making ännu värre mean 'even worse'. This implies the first part of the sentence was already a bad thing, and this new information makes the situation even worse. If you used mycket värre, it would mean 'much worse'. Note that you can never use mer (more) with värre because värre is already in the comparative form.
Why is 'which' translated as vilket here instead of the usual som?
We use som to refer back to a specific noun (like 'the car which was stolen'). However, in this sentence, 'which' refers to the entire previous idea—the fact that the cars were never replaced. Whenever 'which' points back to a whole clause or situation rather than a single noun, you must use vilket.
Why do stulna (stolen) and ersatta (replaced) both end in -a?
Both of these words are past participles acting as adjectives describing the cars (bilarna). Because the noun is plural, the adjectives must take their plural forms to match. The base form stulen becomes stulna, and ersatt becomes ersatta.
Why does this sentence use blev ... ersatta instead of the s-passive ersattes?
You could absolutely say bilarna ersattes aldrig. Using bli (to become) plus a past participle is just another way to form the passive voice. The bli passive often emphasizes the result or state of the cars, while the s-passive (ersattes) focuses slightly more on the action itself.
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