Questions & Answers about E-mailen er lang.
How do we know whether an English loanword like e-mail is an en word or an et word?
Most English loanwords in Danish are assigned the common gender (en). Because of this, "the email" becomes e-mailen. While there are exceptions, assuming a new English loanword is an en word is a very safe guess!
Is the hyphen in E-mailen required in Danish?
Yes, the officially recognized Danish spelling requires the hyphen. In Danish, when a single letter is joined to a noun to make a new word, a hyphen is used. You then simply attach the definite ending -en directly to the end.
Why doesn't the adjective lang have an ending here?
Adjectives in Danish must agree with the noun they describe. Because e-mail is a singular, common gender noun (an en word), the adjective takes its basic dictionary form, lang. If the noun were an et word, it would need a -t ending (langt), and if it were plural, it would need an -e (lange).
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