Plurals of Nouns Ending in an Unstressed -en
In Danish, when a noun ends in an unstressed -en, it often drops the -e- from that final syllable before adding the plural suffix -er. This is known as syncopation.
Take the word helgen (saint). Because the final -en is unstressed, you drop the e before adding -er. The plural becomes helgner.
| Since saints were often poor, the knight gave them his own money. | Da helgner ofte var fattige, gav ridderen dem sine egne penge. |
The same applies to other nouns ending in an unstressed -en, like ørken (desert) and orden (medal or order). They become ørkner and ordner.
| The camels know the oases in these dry deserts. | Kamelerne kender oaserne i disse tørre ørkner. |
| The queen is planning the awarding of new orders to the counts tonight. | Dronningen planlægger tildelingen af nye ordner til greverne i aften. |
The Definite Plural
To form the definite plural, you simply take the syncopated plural form and add the standard definite plural suffix -ne. For example, helgner becomes helgnerne.
| The teacher asked the student to write the saints' names in the margins of the books. | Læreren bad eleven om at skrive helgnernes navne i bøgernes margner. |
Common Nouns with -ner Plurals
This rule applies to several everyday nouns ending in an unstressed -en, such as frøken (miss), margen (margin), and aften (evening). They become frøkner, margner, and aftner.
| The two young misses would rather dance with the count than with the knight. | De to unge frøkner vil hellere danse med greven end med ridderen. |
| After many evenings in the desert, the poor camel was completely dried out. | Efter mange aftner i ørkenen var den stakkels kamel helt udtørret. |
