Understanding Danish Adjective Agreement
In Danish, adjectives are words that describe nouns, like 'big' or 'happy'. Just like in English, they help us understand more about the noun. But in Danish, adjectives change a little bit depending on the noun they are describing.
Danish nouns have two genders: common and neuter. The adjective changes based on the gender of the noun. If the noun is common, the adjective usually ends in '-e'. If the noun is neuter, it often ends in '-t'.
Examples
- en stor bil (a big car)
- et stort hus (a big house)
When there is more than one noun, we call it plural. In Danish, adjectives usually end in '-e' when describing plural nouns, no matter the gender.
Examples
- store biler (big cars)
- store huse (big houses)
If the noun is definite, meaning it's something specific like 'the car', the adjective usually ends in '-e'. Definite nouns often have an article like 'den', 'det', or 'de'.
Examples
- den store bil (the big car)
- det store hus (the big house)
- de store biler (the big cars)
Important Points
- Common gender nouns with indefinite adjectives often end in '-e'.
- Neuter gender nouns with indefinite adjectives often end in '-t'.
- Plural nouns make adjectives end in '-e'.
- Definite nouns make adjectives end in '-e'.