Adjective Endings: Feminine and Plural

Level 2

Before feminine and plural nouns, the adjective has no ending: eng grouss Stad (a big city), déi al Leit (the old people).

How It Works

1. Feminine nouns
The adjective stays bare after eng, déi, keng, possessives such as meng, and with no article:

  • eng grouss Stad (a big city)
  • déi nei Wunneng (the new flat)
  • eng gutt Iddi (a good idea)
  • waarm Mëllech (warm milk)

2. Plural nouns of every gender
All plurals behave the same way, whether the noun is masculine, feminine or neuter:

  • déi kleng Kanner (the little children)
  • déi al Leit (the old people)
  • gutt Frënn (good friends)

There is no plural of en, so a plural noun often has no article at all: Ech hu kleng Kanner (I have young children). See En and Eng.

3. The article changes, not the adjective
The short article d' cannot stand before an adjective. It becomes déi for feminine and plural nouns: d'Kanner → déi kleng Kanner. See The Short Article D' and Déi and Dat.

4. Not like German
German adds -e or -en here (die kleinen Kinder). Luxembourgish does not: déi kleng Kanner.

5. Two adjectives lose an n
The adjectives schéin and fein follow the n-rule even without an ending: eng schéi Geschicht (a nice story). Most other adjectives keep their n: eng ronn Saach. See Nouns and Adjectives That Keep Their N.

6. The dative is different
In the dative, feminine adjectives end in -er and plural adjectives in -en: an enger grousser Stad, mat gudde Frënn. See Adjective Endings in the Dative.

Examples (6)

  1. Dat ass eng grouss Stad.

    That is a big city.

    Stad is feminine, so grouss has no ending.

  2. Mir hunn eng nei Wunneng.

    We have a new flat.

    The object form is the same as the subject form.

  3. Déi jonk Fra schwätzt Franséisch.

    The young woman speaks French.

    D' becomes déi before the adjective.

  4. Si hunn zwee kleng Kanner.

    They have two small children.

    Plural nouns take the bare adjective too.

  5. Déi al Leit sëtzen am Park.

    The old people are sitting in the park.

  6. Ech drénke gär waarm Mëllech.

    I like drinking warm milk.

    With no article, the feminine adjective still has no ending.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding a German-style -e to the adjective.

    Déi klenge Kanner spillen dobaussen.
    Déi kleng Kanner spillen dobaussen.

    Plural adjectives have no ending in the nominative and accusative. Klenge is the masculine or the dative form.

  • Keeping the short article d' before an adjective.

    D'nei Wunneng ass schéin.
    Déi nei Wunneng ass schéin.

    When an adjective follows, the feminine and plural article is written déi.

  • Using the masculine -en with a feminine noun.

    Ech hunn eng neien Täsch.
    Ech hunn eng nei Täsch.

    Täsch is feminine (d'Täsch), so the adjective stays nei.

How It Connects

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

Adjective Endings: Feminine and PluralLevel 2

Learn This First

Before Adjective Endings: Feminine and Plural, learn Adjective Endings: Masculine -en.