Breakdown of Den næstlængste rørledning går gennem skoven.
skoven
the forest
den
the (common, before adjective)
gå
to walk / to go / to go out, to fail (of power)
gennem
through
næstlængst
second longest
rørledningen
the pipeline
Questions & Answers about Den næstlængste rørledning går gennem skoven.
How do you form ordinal rankings with superlatives like næstlængste in Danish?
In Danish, you use the prefix næst- (meaning "next") attached directly to the superlative form of the adjective. So, næstlængste literally means "next longest," which translates to "second longest." For subsequent rankings, you attach the ordinal number directly to the adjective, like tredjelængste for "third longest."
Why does næstlængste end with an "e"?
Because it is part of a definite phrase triggered by the article Den. When an adjective follows den, det, or de, it takes the weak definite ending, which is almost always -e. The base superlative is næstlængst, but it becomes næstlængste here to match the definiteness.
Why is the noun rørledning used without the -en suffix here, even though it means "the pipeline"?
This is a key rule for definite nouns in Danish that is always worth reviewing. When you add an adjective before a definite noun, you use the freestanding article Den (or Det / De) and keep the noun in its basic, suffix-free form (rørledning). You only use the suffix form (rørledningen) when there is no adjective.
Could I use igennem instead of gennem in this sentence?
No, gennem is the correct choice here because it acts as a preposition taking a direct object (skoven). The word igennem is generally used as an adverb without an object, for example, if you just said "rørledningen går lige igennem" (the pipeline goes right through).
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