Breakdown of Korsningen är byggd av betong.
vara
to be
av
of, by / from (cause)
bygga
to build
betongen
the concrete
korsningen
the intersection
Questions & Answers about Korsningen är byggd av betong.
Why is the past participle byggd here instead of byggt or byggda?
The verb bygga (to build) belongs to Group 2. When used as a past participle, it acts like an adjective and must agree with the noun it describes. Since korsningen is an en-word (a common gender noun) and it is singular, the participle takes the -d ending. If the noun were an ett-word, it would be byggt (like huset är byggt), and if plural, it would be byggda.
Why do we use the preposition av in this sentence?
In Swedish, when you want to say what material something is made or built from, you use av. It translates directly to "of" or "out of" in this context, as in "built of concrete" (byggd av betong) or "made of wood" (gjord av trä).
Could I use the s-passive and say Korsningen byggs av betong instead?
You could, but it completely changes the meaning. Är byggd uses the verb "to be" plus a past participle to describe a finished state: the intersection is already complete. If you use the s-passive byggs, it means the action is happening right now ("The intersection is being built out of concrete").
How is the noun korsningen related to the verb att korsa (to cross)?
You can often turn a Swedish verb into a noun by adding the suffix -ning to the verb stem, which is very similar to adding "-ing" or "-tion" in English. Here, the stem of korsa gives us korsning (an intersection or crossing). The -en at the end simply makes it definite: "the intersection".
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