Resultative Verb + Adjective

Level 5

In Danish, resultative constructions describe the result of an action. For example, if you paint a wall red, the wall becomes red. The adjective must agree with the object's gender and number.

How It Works

Resultative constructions (resultative prædikativer), often referred to in Danish grammar as objektsprædikativ, are a core feature of Danish. They function as secondary predicates, meaning they add information about the state of the object after the verb has acted upon it.

1. Adjective Agreement and Form
The adjective must agree with the object it describes in gender and number. Crucially, resultative adjectives always use the indefinite form, even if the object itself is definite. This follows the adjective agreement rules for predicates:

  • Common gender: Han malede væggen rød (The wall is common).
  • Neuter gender: Han malede huset rødt (The house is neuter).
  • Plural: Han malede dørene røde (The doors are plural).

Note that even though væggen is definite, we never say røde in this construction unless it is plural.

2. Resultative vs. Depictive
It is important to distinguish resultatives from depictive constructions. A resultative describes the state resulting from the action (e.g., Han bankede kødet fladt — the meat became flat), whereas a depictive describes the state of the object during the action (e.g., Han spiste kødet råt — the meat was raw while he ate it).

3. Reflexive Resultatives
Danish often uses reflexive pronouns to show that the subject reached a state through their own action. These are very common in idiomatic Danish: Han drak sig fuld (He drank himself drunk).

4. Particles vs. Adjectives
Resultatives can also be particles like op (up), ud (out), or væk (away). Unlike adjectives, these do not change form based on gender or number. See particle placement for more on how these interact with objects.

Examples (5)

  1. Hun vaskede skjorten ren.

    She washed the shirt clean.

    Word by Word: She washed shirt-the clean.

    Here, 'ren' (clean) describes the state of the shirt after washing. Since 'skjorte' is common gender, the adjective is 'ren'.

  2. Børnene skreg sig hæse.

    The children screamed themselves hoarse.

    Word by Word: Children-the screamed themselves hoarse.

    This is a reflexive resultative. The children reached the state of being 'hæse' (plural agreement) by screaming.

  3. Han malede bordet hvidt.

    He painted the table white.

    Word by Word: He painted table-the white.

    Because 'bordet' is neuter gender, the adjective 'hvid' takes the -t ending to become 'hvidt'.

  4. Vi drak glasset ud.

    We finished the glass (drank it up).

    Word by Word: We drank glass-the out.

    This uses a particle ('ud') as a resultative to show the glass is now empty.

  5. Han sparkede døren op.

    He kicked the door open.

    Word by Word: He kicked door-the up.

    In Danish, 'op' is used as a resultative particle to mean 'open' in many contexts.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the neuter -t ending (adverbial form) for all resultative adjectives.

    Han malede bilen rødt.
    Han malede bilen rød.

    Learners often treat resultatives like adverbs. However, they are adjectives that must agree with the object. Since 'bil' is common gender, you must use 'rød', not 'rødt'.

  • Incorrect word order by placing the adjective before the object.

    Hun vaskede ren skjorten.
    Hun vaskede skjorten ren.

    The resultative adjective must follow the object it describes.

  • Using a plain adjective when you mean he worked until he was tired.

    Different MeaningHan arbejdede træt.
    Han arbejdede sig træt.

    'Han arbejdede træt' is a good sentence, but it means he was tired while he worked. To say he worked until he became tired, use the reflexive 'sig'.

How It Connects

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Resultative Verb + AdjectiveLevel 5

Learn This First

To learn resultative constructions, you need to understand how verbs can be combined with adjectives or particles to describe a resulting state. This requires a solid grasp of adjective agreement (to match the object), the placement of particles in a sentence, and how reflexive pronouns are used when the result applies to the subject itself.