Breakdown of Kollegierne er gamle, men meget hyggelige.
være
to be
gammel
old
men
but
meget
very; much, a lot
Questions & Answers about Kollegierne er gamle, men meget hyggelige.
How do we get from the dictionary form kollegium to kollegierne?
Kollegium is a neuter noun of Latin origin ending in -um. To make it plural, you drop the -um to get the stem kollegi-, then add the regular plural ending -er to get kollegier (dormitories). To make it definite ('the dormitories'), you add the definite plural suffix -ne, resulting in kollegierne.
Why does the adjective gammel change to gamle here?
Because the subject kollegierne is plural, the adjective must also be plural. Normally you just add -e, but adjectives ending in -el (like gammel) drop the -e- in the root and simplify double consonants when adding the plural ending. So gammel becomes gamle.
Why do we use hyggelige instead of hyggelig if it comes after the verb?
In Danish, predicate adjectives—adjectives that come after a linking verb like er (are)—must still agree in number and gender with the subject they describe. Since kollegierne is plural, hyggelig takes the plural -e ending to become hyggelige.
Is kollegium a false friend for the English word 'college'?
It can be! While it shares the same Latin root, in everyday Danish a kollegium is a student dormitory or residence hall, not the university itself. It can also refer to a formal board or council, but the context of being 'old, but very cozy' clearly points to student housing here.