Adjective Agreement

Level 2

Danish adjectives follow two main patterns: Indefinite (matching gender and number) and Definite (usually just adding -e).

How It Works

Danish adjective agreement is divided into two paradigms:

1. The Indefinite (Strong) Paradigm
Used when the noun is indefinite (e.g., 'a house') or when the adjective follows a verb like være.

  • Common Gender: Base form (e.g., en stor bil).
  • Neuter Gender: Add -t (e.g., et stort hus).
  • Plural: Add -e (e.g., store biler).

2. The Definite (Weak) Paradigm
Used when the noun is definite, triggered by den, det, or de, possessives like min, or a genitive -s (e.g., Peters store bil).

  • In the definite form, the adjective almost always ends in -e (e.g., den store bil).

Special Spelling Rules:

  • Consonant Doubling: Many adjectives with a short stressed vowel double a single final consonant before adding -e (e.g., grøn → grønne).
  • Syncopation: Many adjectives ending in unstressed -el, -en, -er drop the 'e' before adding the plural -e (e.g., gammel → gamle).
  • Ending in -et: Adjectives or participles ending in -et change to -ede in the plural and definite (e.g., malet → malede).
  • Ending in -sk or -isk: Adjectives ending in -isk and nationality adjectives ending in -sk (e.g., dansk, norsk, italiensk) do not take a -t in the neuter. Dansk and norsk have one syllable; nationality words follow this rule regardless of syllable count. However, monosyllabic adjectives like frisk or rask do take a -t (friskt).
  • Ending in -s or -e: Some adjectives are invariant, such as moderne, fælles, stakkels. Final -s alone does not establish this: compare løs, løst, løse and tilfreds, tilfredst, tilfredse.
  • Stressed Vowels: Learn these forms individually: ny, nyt, nye and fri, frit, frie; blå, blåt, blå and grå, gråt, grå. Do not infer that every final vowel takes -t or that most take plural -e; lilla is invariant.

Irregular Adjectives:

  • lille: Use lille for singular (both genders/definite) and små for all plural forms.

Examples (6)

  1. En rød cykel.

    A red bicycle.

    Word by Word: A red bicycle.

    Common gender indefinite: The adjective 'rød' stays in its base form.

  2. Et rødt æble.

    A red apple.

    Word by Word: A red-t apple.

    Neuter gender indefinite: The adjective adds a -t because 'æble' is a neuter noun (et æble).

  3. Huset er stort.

    The house is big.

    Word by Word: House-the is big-t.

    Predicative use: Even when the adjective comes after the verb, it must agree with the neuter subject 'huset'.

  4. Den store hund sover.

    The big dog is sleeping.

    Word by Word: The big-e dog sleeps.

    Definite form: When using 'den', the adjective takes the -e ending.

  5. Peters store bil.

    Peter's big car.

    Word by Word: Peter's big-e car.

    Genitive triggers: When a noun is preceded by a genitive -s, store is the appropriate definite adjective form; an invariant adjective would keep its own form.

  6. To små børn.

    Two small children.

    Word by Word: Two small children.

    The irregular adjective lille becomes 'små' in the plural.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the -t for neuter nouns.

    Et stor hus.
    Et stort hus.

    Because 'hus' is a neuter noun (et hus), the adjective must take the -t ending in the indefinite singular.

  • Adding -t to adjectives ending in -isk or nationality adjectives ending in -sk.

    Et praktiskt bord eller et danskt flag.
    Et praktisk bord eller et dansk flag.

    Adjectives ending in -isk (like 'praktisk') and nationality adjectives ending in -sk (like 'dansk', 'norsk', 'svensk') do not take the neuter -t. However, monosyllabic adjectives like 'frisk' or 'falsk' do take a -t (friskt, falskt).

  • Using 'lille' in the plural.

    To lille biler.
    To små biler.

    The adjective 'lille' is irregular. It changes to 'små' in the plural, rather than adding an -e.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Adjective AgreementLevel 2

Learn This First

To learn adjective agreement, you must first understand Danish noun genders (common vs. neuter) and how nouns change in their definite and plural forms, as these factors determine which ending the adjective receives.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 6 more in the full list.