hänfördes

Hänfördes is a Swedish verb form meaning was enthralled or was captivated. It is the preterite (preteritum) form used to describe that someone or something felt strong admiration, wonder, or inspiration in the past. The corresponding active form is hänförde, for example, “Han hänförde publiken.” The phrase hänfördes av is common, with av introducing the cause (for example av konserten, av naturen, av berättelsen).

Etymology and usage notes: Hänföra, the verb from which hänfördes derives, means to enchant, captivate, or move deeply. The word is used in both everyday and more literary language to express a powerful emotional or aesthetic impact. It often appears with av to specify what caused the enchantment and can describe people, performances, scenes, or ideas that inspired strong positive emotion.

Grammar and related forms: The past tense form in the active voice is hänförde (he captivated). The form shown here, hänfördes, is used in contexts where the subject is at least partly experiencing being captivated, often in a passive or stative sense: “Publiken hänfördes av föredraget.” The past participle is hänförd and is used to form adjectives or compound tenses, as in “en hänförd publik.” The present participle is hänförande, used attributively to describe something that captivates, as in “ett hänförande framförande.”

Summary: Hänfördes conveys a past state of being deeply moved or impressed by something, typically in art, nature, or speech. It remains common in standard Swedish, especially in formal, literary, or descriptive writing.