Adjective inflection
Adjective forms: base, +t, +e
Can inflect adjectives correctly
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Vi bor i et stort hus med en stor have.
We live in a big house with a big garden.
De små børn leger med de store hunde.
The small children play with the big dogs.
Den røde bil er hurtigere end den blå.
The red car is faster than the blue one.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Base form (en-words), +t (et-words), +e (plural/definite). lille→små irregular.
Three forms to learn for each adjective: base, +t, +e.
🇬🇧 English: English adjectives never change! Danish adds -t (neuter) and -e (plural/definite).
🇷🇺 Russian: Russian adjective agreement is much m
Common Error Patterns
Forgetting -t ending with et-words
Et-words need -t on the adjective: et stort hus, et rødt æble. Not *et stor hus.
Forgetting -e in definite/plural
Plural and definite adjectives always get -e: store hunde, den store hund. Not *den stor hund.
Vi bor i et stort hus med en stor have.
We live in a big house with a big garden.
'Stort' = big (neuter: et hus). 'Stor' = big (common: en have). Same adjective, different forms!
De små børn leger med de store hunde.
The small children play with the big dogs.
'Små' = small (irregular plural of 'lille'). 'Store' = big (plural/definite form of 'stor').
Den røde bil er hurtigere end den blå.
The red car is faster than the blue one.
'Røde' = red (definite: den + adj-e + noun-en). 'Blå' is invariable (already ends in vowel).
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises