Breakdown of De ældre er ofte ensomme.
være
to be
de
the (plural, before adjective)
ofte
often
ældre
elderly
Questions & Answers about De ældre er ofte ensomme.
Why is there no noun after De ældre?
In Danish, you can often use an adjective like a noun to describe a whole group of people. By saying De ældre, you are literally saying the older ones, which translates naturally as the elderly. You don't need to add a word like mennesker (people) after it.
Wait, isn't ældre the word for older? Why not use the word for old?
Ældre is indeed the comparative form of the adjective gammel (old). In Danish, it is much more common and polite to refer to senior citizens as De ældre (the older ones) rather than De gamle (the old ones).
Why does ensomme end in an -e?
Because adjectives in Danish must agree with the subject they describe. Since our subject De ældre is plural, the base adjective ensom (lonely) must take the plural -e ending to become ensomme.
Why is ofte placed after er instead of before it?
This follows the Danish V2 rule, which states that the main verb must be the second piece of information in a main clause. Therefore, the verb er comes right after the subject De ældre, and the adverb ofte (often) must immediately follow the verb.