Language/Danish/Grammar/Definite-and-Indefinite-Articles
As a beginner learning Danish, you will encounter definite and indefinite articles that are different from English. In this lesson, you will learn about these articles and the concept of gender in Danish nouns.
Definite Articles
In Danish, definite articles are used to specify a particular noun. The definite article has different forms, depending on the gender of the noun and whether it is singular or plural. The definite article is always used with Danish nouns, unlike in English where it is optional.
The definite article for masculine nouns in singular form is "en". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en dreng | "en" /dʁɛŋ/ | a boy |
The definite article for feminine nouns in singular form is "en" or "e". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en pige | "en" /piː/ or "e" /pjeː/ | a girl |
The definite article for neuter nouns in singular form is "et". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
et barn | "et" /baːn/ | a child |
The definite article for plural nouns, regardless of gender, is "de". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
de bøger | "de" /bøːjɐ/ | the books |
In Danish, the definite article is also used with proper nouns, unlike in English. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
Danmark | /danmaɐk/ | Denmark |
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
Danmarken | /danmaɐkən/ | The Denmark |
Indefinite Articles
In contrast to definite articles, indefinite articles are used to refer to an unspecified or general noun. Again, these have different forms depending on the gender of the noun and whether it is singular or plural.
The indefinite article for masculine nouns in singular form is "en". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en dreng | "en" /dʁɛŋ/ | a boy |
The indefinite article for feminine nouns in singular form is "en" or "ei". The form "ei" is more commonly used in Eastern Denmark. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en pige | "en" /piː/ or "ei" /pjeː/ | a girl |
The indefinite article for neuter nouns in singular form is "et". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
et barn | "et" /baːn/ | a child |
The indefinite article for plural nouns, regardless of gender, is "nogle" or "noget". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
nogle bøger | "nogle" /noɡlə/ | some books |
You can also use the indefinite article with proper nouns, unlike in English. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en dansker | "en" /dænskɐ/ | a Dane |
Gender and Noun Forms
In Danish, all nouns have gender - they are either masculine, feminine or neuter. It's not easy to determine the gender of a noun, so the best way to learn it is to memorize it with the noun itself.
There are some general rules that can guide you when determining gender, though:
Most nouns that end in "-e" are feminine. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en pige | "en" /piː/ or "e" /pjeː/ | a girl |
Nouns that refer to living beings with male characteristics are masculine, unless ending in "-ing", "-ning" or "-else". For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en dreng | "en" /dʁɛŋ/ | a boy |
Nouns that refer to living beings with female characteristics are feminine. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
en kvinde | "en" /kvinə/ | a woman |
Nouns that end in "-et", "-en" or "-el" are usually neuter, unless they refer to living beings. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
et værelse | "et" /væɐləsə/ | a room |
There are also some irregular nouns that do not follow these rules. You will learn them over time as you encounter them.
When forming plural nouns, the rules are as follows:
Most nouns add an "-e" to the end to form the plural. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
en dreng | "en" /dʁɛŋ/ | a boy | drenge | /dʁɛnɡ(ə)/ | boys |
Nouns that end in "-er", "-el", "-en" or "-et" do not change in the plural form. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
et æble | "et" /ɛblə/ | an apple | æbler | /ɛblɐ/ | apples |
Nouns that end in "-e" or "-ø" change to "-er" in the plural form. For example:
Danish | Pronunciation | English | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
en søster | "en" /ˈsøsdə/ | a sister | søstre | /ˈsøsdʁə/ | sisters |
There are some irregular plural forms, which you will learn over time as you encounter them.
Conclusion
In this lesson, you've learned about definite and indefinite articles in Danish, as well as the concept of gender and noun forms. Danish articles work differently from English articles, so it's important to practice using them correctly. Keep learning, and soon you will be able to communicate effectively with native Danish speakers!