Questions & Answers about Hun har elleve gamle cykler.
How do you pronounce the number elleve?
In Danish, elleve is usually pronounced as if it were spelled "elle", dropping the "ve" at the end. You might also hear it pronounced fully in very clear speech, but the short version is the most common.
Why is the word for "old" written as gamle instead of gammel here?
Because adjectives in Danish have to match the noun they describe. Since cykler (bicycles) is plural (because there are elleve of them!), the adjective takes its plural form, which is gamle.
Wait, the singular is cykel, so shouldn't the plural be "cykeler"?
That is a great observation! When a Danish noun ends in "-el", it usually drops the last "e" before adding the plural ending. So cykel loses its "e" and gets "-er" added to the end, becoming cykler.
Do numbers like elleve change depending on the gender of the noun?
No, cardinal numbers from two onwards stay exactly the same regardless of the noun's gender. Only the number one changes to match the gender (en or et). So elleve is always just elleve.