bestämmas

Bestämmas is the present passive form of the Swedish verb bestämma, meaning to determine or to decide. The form indicates that the subject is not performing the action itself, but is being determined by someone else, by rules, or by a process. The passive is formed by adding the suffix -s to the verb stem (bestämma → bestämmas). The agent may be omitted, but can be expressed with av: for example, Beslutet bestäms av myndigheten or Reglerna bestäms av EU-lagarna.

In use, bestämmas often appears in formal, bureaucratic, or general statements about processes. It can express ongoing states or general facts: Prisnivån bestäms av marknaden. The present passive formed with bli + supine, as in beslutas, is an alternative when a more agent-oriented nuance is needed, but the -s form remains common for generic statements.

Notes: Bestämmas is the standard synthetic present passive in Swedish; it contrasts with the "bli"-passive, which can mark a more deliberate or result-focused action.