Breakdown of Rådhuset ritades av en känd arkitekt.
en
a, an (common)
av
of, by / from (cause)
känd
famous
arkitekten
the architect
rådhuset
the town hall
rita
to design / to draw
Questions & Answers about Rådhuset ritades av en känd arkitekt.
How is the passive verb ritades formed here?
This is the s-passive in the simple past tense. The active past tense of the verb is ritade (a Group 1 verb meaning 'drew' or 'designed'). To make it passive, you simply add an -s to the end of that active past tense form, giving us ritades (was designed).
Doesn't the verb rita usually mean 'to draw'? Why is it translated as 'designed'?
It does usually mean 'to draw', but in Swedish, rita is the standard verb used for designing buildings, clothes, or furniture. Because an architect's design process involves drawing blueprints, a Swedish speaker will naturally say a building was ritades rather than using a word like designades.
Is av always the word used for 'by' in a passive sentence?
As a quick refresher, why is the adjective känd instead of känt or kända?
Känd means 'known' or 'famous'. Because it is describing en arkitekt (an en-word in the singular), it uses the base form känd. If it were describing an ett-word, it would become känt (for example, ett känt rådhus).
Learn Rådhuset ritades av en känd arkitekt 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