Questions & Answers about Pigen drikker vandet.
Why are there endings on the words Pigen and vandet instead of a separate word for "the"?
In Danish, the definite article (the word for "the") is usually attached to the end of the noun as a suffix instead of coming before it. For example, pige means "girl", and adding -n gives us pigen ("the girl").
Why does Pigen get an -n ending while vandet gets an -et ending?
Danish nouns are split into two groups called genders: common (en-words) and neuter (et-words). Pige is a common gender noun, taking the -en suffix (shortened to -n here because the word already ends in an e). Vand is a neuter noun, taking the -et suffix. This neuter category is exactly why predicative adjectives get a special -t ending when describing neuter words in your current lesson!
Is there a rule to figure out that vand is neuter?
Unfortunately, there are no strict rules for which gender a noun belongs to, so you just have to memorize it. The best trick is to always learn a new noun along with its article, such as et vand ("a water") or vandet ("the water"). Knowing the gender will help you remember when to add a -t to your adjectives later.
Why is there an -r at the end of drikker?
In Danish, almost all verbs in the present tense end in -r. Unlike in English, the verb does not change depending on who is doing the action. Whether it is "I drink", "you drink", or "the girl drinks", the word remains exactly the same: drikker.
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