brukes

Brukes is the present passive form of the Norwegian verb bruke, meaning to use. It translates to "is used" or "are used" in English and is common in Bokmål. In Nynorsk, the corresponding present passive is typically brukast. Brukes is used to describe actions where the subject is the receiver of the action rather than the doer.

Etymology and form: The verb å bruke originates from Old Norse bruka and is cognate with Danish bruge and Swedish bruka. The present passive brukes is a direct passive construction built from the verb stem and the passive suffix. The active present form is bruker (he/she/it uses), and the past tense forms include brukte (used) in the active voice. The past participle is brukt, which appears in compound tenses such as har brukt (“has used”).

Usage in Norwegian: Brukes is employed in general statements, instructions, and descriptions of how things are utilized. It tends to appear in formal and semi-formal writing, manuals, articles, and journalism, as well as everyday language. In Nynorsk contexts, brukast is the equivalent form, and some speakers may prefer or encounter brugt in certain constructions dependent on dialect.

Examples:

- Dette verktøyet brukes ofte i undervisningen.

- I mange land brukes elektrisitet som energikilde.

See also: bruk (noun), bruke (verb), passiv voice in Norwegian, Norwegian language variants.

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