Breakdown of Terningen ligger ved spillebrættet.
ved
by
ligge
to lie
spillebrættet
the game board
terningen
the die
Questions & Answers about Terningen ligger ved spillebrættet.
Why does Danish use terningen and spillebrættet instead of a separate word for the?
Because Danish usually puts the definite article onto the end of the noun.
- terning = die
- terningen = the die
- spillebræt = game board
- spillebrættet = the game board
So in a simple sentence like this, Danish does not normally use a separate word matching English the.
Why does one noun end in -en and the other in -et?
That depends on the noun’s gender.
Danish has two grammatical genders:
- common gender nouns usually take -en in the singular definite
- neuter nouns usually take -et in the singular definite
Here:
- en terning → terningen
- et spillebræt → spillebrættet
So terning is a common-gender noun, while spillebræt is a neuter noun.
What form is ligger?