Definite Plurals: The "-ne" Ending
You have already learned how to make nouns definite in the singular (like "the dog" or "the house"). To make a plural noun definite (like "the dogs" or "the houses"), Danish uses a very simple and consistent rule: just add the suffix -ne to the plural form of the noun.
For nouns that form their plural with -e (like fugle or heste), you simply attach -ne directly to the end:
- fugle (birds) becomes fuglene (the birds)
- heste (horses) becomes hestene (the horses)
Here are some examples of these definite plurals in action:
| Do you hear the birds? | Hører du fuglene? |
| The horses are big. | Hestene er store. |
Words with "-r" or "-er" Plurals
The exact same rule applies to nouns that form their plurals with -r or -er. Take the plural form you already know, and attach -ne:
- træer (trees) becomes træerne (the trees)
- marker (fields) becomes markerne (the fields)
- søer (lakes) becomes søerne (the lakes)
Notice how this works in sentences describing nature and movement:
| The birds fly from the trees. | Fuglene flyver fra træerne. |
| The dogs run in the fields. | Hundene løber i markerne. |
| Are the lakes big? | Er søerne store? |
Adjectives with Definite Plurals
When you use definite plurals, any adjectives describing them must also be in their plural form (which generally ends in -e). Let's look at the adjective hurtig (fast) changing to hurtige to match the plural subjects:
| The horses are not fast. | Hestene er ikke hurtige. |
| The cats are fast, and they run now. | Kattene er hurtige, og de løber nu. |
Once you know the plural form of a noun, adding -ne to make it definite is one of the most reliable patterns in Danish grammar!
| We do not see the fields and the trees here. | Vi ser ikke markerne og træerne her. |