#lesson15
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There’s been quite a lot of lessons so far, so it’s about time to look into adjectives. We do use them every day after all. There are certain rules for adjectives in Danish and they depend on whether a noun is in its indefinite or definite form and whether it’s an en-noun or an et-noun. Let’s jump right into it.
Indefinite (a/an)
There are three different endings for the adjective used to describe a noun in its indefinite form. The ending is either none, -t or -e and it depends whether it’s an en-noun, an et-noun or plural. As a reminder, nouns in its indefinite form is when you talk about any noun (e.g. an apple, a cat).
En-noun: En god sang = A good song
Adjectives that describes an en-noun in indefinite form has no ending.
Et-noun: Et godt æble = A good apple
Adjectives that describes an et-noun in indefinite form has -t endings.
Plural: Gode sange = Good songs
Gode æbler = Good apples
Adjectives that describes noun in plural in indefinite form form has -e endings.
Definite (the, my, his, hers, etc)
There is only one ending for adjectives used to describe a noun in its definite form. The ending is -e. As a reminder, nouns in its definite form is when you talk about a specific noun (e.g. the apple, my cat, his shirt, etc).
En-noun: Den gode sang = The good song
Adjectives that describes an en-noun in definite form has -e endings.
Et-noun: Det gode æble = The good apple
Adjectives that describes an et-noun in definite form has -e endings.
Plural: De gode sange = The good songs
De gode æbler = The good apples
Adjectives that describes noun in plural in definite form has -e endings.
Summary table
Below is a summary table of all of the above examples.
Example sentences
Det er en god sang = It is a good song
Jeg køber tre røde æbler = I am buying three red apples
Drej til højre efter det gule hus = Turn right after the yellow house
Det er et sødt billede = It is a cute picture
Han er en hurtig fodboldspiller = He is a fast football/soccer player
Min mors hvide bil = My moms white car
Vil du have et hvidt stykke chokolade? = Do you want a white piece of chocolate?
De tre små killinger = The three small kittens
Der er mange forskellige mennesker = There are many different people
Du bagte nogle dårlige småkager = You baked some bad cookies
Final note: There are some adjectives that does not follow the rules stated above. To avoid leaving you feeling overwhelmed, these exceptions will be covered in another lesson.
If you have any questions or feedback feel free to submit a question/feedback at danishwithemi.tumblr.com/ask and I will answer as soon as possible.
