Adjective After Være
In Danish, adjectives aren't static. When you say 'The house is big,' the word for 'big' must change based on whether the subject is an en-word, an et-word, or plural.
How It Works
Danish adjectives follow a specific set of rules when they describe a subject after a verb:
- Common Gender (en-words): Use the base form of the adjective (no ending).
- Neuter Gender (et-words): Usually add a -t to the end of the adjective. If the adjective already ends in -t (like sort), it remains unchanged.
- Plural (all genders): Usually add an -e to the end of the adjective.
Spelling Rules:
- Consonant Doubling: If an adjective has a stressed short vowel and ends in a single consonant, many words double the consonant before adding -e (e.g., smuk becomes smukke).
- Dropping the -e-: Many adjectives ending in unstressed -el, -en, or -er drop the internal -e- when adding the plural -e (e.g., gammel becomes gamle).
Important Exceptions:
- Stressed Vowels: Blå and grå do not take plural -e, but ny → nye and fri → frie do. Learn these forms individually.
- Invariable Endings: Some adjectives are invariant, including moderne, fælles, ru. Sjov ends in v and inflects normally: sjov, sjovt, sjove. Final s alone is not an invariant rule; compare løs, løst, løse.
- Silent -t: In adjectives ending in -ig or -lig (like billigt or dejligt), the neuter -t is not pronounced.
- Lille: The adjective lille stays lille in the neuter, but becomes små in the plural.
- -isk and Nationalities: Adjectives ending in -isk (fantastisk) or nationalities in -sk (dansk) do not take a -t in the neuter.
Other endings: An adjective in -et does not add a second t in the neuter: Huset er stribet (the house is striped). In plural, Husene er stribede (the houses are striped). Non-nationality monosyllabic -sk adjectives do take neuter t: Barnet er raskt (the child is well). Compare et dansk barn, with no t on the nationality adjective. These exceptions qualify the general base/t/e pattern.
Examples (6)
- Min bil er rød.
My car is red.
Word by Word: My car is red.
'Bil' is a common gender (en) noun, so the adjective 'rød' stays in its base form.
- Mit hus er rødt.
My house is red.
Word by Word: My house is red.
'Hus' is a neuter (et) noun, so we add -t to 'rød' to make it 'rødt'.
- Mine biler er røde.
My cars are red.
Word by Word: My cars are red.
'Biler' is plural, so we add -e to 'rød' to make it 'røde'.
- Vejret er dejligt i dag.
The weather is lovely today.
Word by Word: Weather-the is lovely in day.
'Vejr' is a neuter noun (et vejr), so 'dejlig' becomes 'dejligt'. Note that the -t is silent here.
- Huset er sort.
The house is black.
Word by Word: House-the is black.
Since 'sort' already ends in -t, we do not add an extra -t for the neuter noun 'hus'.
- Himlen er blå.
The sky is blue.
Word by Word: Sky-the is blue.
Blå stays blå in plural and definite use, but this example is common-gender singular. Its neuter form is blåt; other vowel-final words can have different paradigms.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting the -t for neuter subjects.
Huset er stor.Huset er stort.Hus is neuter, so stor takes t here. Learn exceptions: Barnet er glad is correct for a happy child; do not force gladt into this predicative emotional meaning.
Adding a second -t to adjectives already ending in -t.
Huset er sortt.Huset er sort.If an adjective already ends in -t (like 'sort' or 'kort'), you do not add another -t for neuter subjects.
Using 'lille' for plural subjects.
Børnene er lille.Børnene er små.The adjective 'lille' is irregular. While it stays 'lille' for both common and neuter singular subjects, it must change to 'små' when the subject is plural.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn adjectives in the predicate position, you first need to know the verb 'være' (to be) and understand how Danish nouns are categorized by gender and number, as the adjective must change its form to match the subject.
Related Patterns
- -t (intetkøn)Neuter Adjective -t
This pattern focuses specifically on the neuter ending used in predicates.
Level 2 - -e (adjektiv)Adjective -e (Plural and Definite)
This pattern explains the -e ending used for plural subjects.
Level 2 - Adjective Before The Noun
Contrast this with how adjectives behave when they are placed directly before a noun.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
- Weather ExpressionsLevel 1
- -ere/-estComparative and Superlative -ere/-estLevel 2
- -t (adverbium)Adverb -tLevel 2
- bliveBecome (Blive)Level 2
- lige så ... somAs ... as (Lige Så ... Som)Level 2
- -endePresent Participle -endeLevel 3
- -lig/-igAdjective Suffixes -lig and -igLevel 3
- for ... til atToo ... to (For ... Til at)Level 3
And 5 more in the full list.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Adjective After Være in Bubblegum
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