Nouns: plural forms
Plural endings: -er, -e, -r, zero
Can form plurals of common nouns
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Jeg har tre hunde og to katte.
I have three dogs and two cats.
Børnene leger i parken med deres venner.
The children are playing in the park with their friends.
Der er mange huse og biler på vejen.
There are many houses and cars on the road.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Four plural patterns: -e, -er, -r, zero. Definite plural adds -ne/-ene.
Four plural patterns to learn, plus irregulars.
🇬🇧 English: English mostly uses -s. Danish has 4 patterns plus irregulars like børn.
🇷🇺 Russian: Russian has complex plural declensions. Danish is simp
Common Error Patterns
Using wrong plural ending (-er vs -e vs -r)
Most monosyllabic en-words: +e (hund→hunde). Most polysyllabic: +er (bil→biler). Learn each noun's plural.
Wrong definite plural form
Definite plural: add -ne after vowel (hunde→hundene), -ene after consonant (biler→bilerne).
Jeg har tre hunde og to katte.
I have three dogs and two cats.
'Hunde' = plural of hund (+e). 'Katte' = plural of kat (+e with doubled consonant → katte).
Børnene leger i parken med deres venner.
The children are playing in the park with their friends.
'Børnene' = the children (børn + -ene). Irregular: barn→børn. 'Venner' = friends (ven + -ner).
Der er mange huse og biler på vejen.
There are many houses and cars on the road.
'Huse' = houses (et hus → huse, +e). 'Biler' = cars (en bil → biler, +er). Different plural endings.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises