Hunden har en sort hale.

The dog has a black tail.

Breakdown of Hunden har en sort hale.

• hunden: the dog
• en: a
• sort: black
• have: to have
• halen: the tail

Questions & Answers about Hunden har en sort hale.

Why does Hunden end with “-en”?

In Danish, adding “-en” to a noun is one way of forming the definite article (the). So hund (dog) becomes hunden (the dog). In English, you’d use “the” in front of the noun instead of adding an ending.

Why is it en sort hale and not et sort hale?

In Danish, nouns are classified as either common gender (en) or neuter gender (et). Hale (tail) belongs to the common gender group, so we use en. If the noun were neuter, you would use et (for example, et hus for “a house”).

When do you use sort versus sorte?

The form sort is used when the adjective directly modifies a singular common-gender noun (en hale). You would use sorte if the adjective modifies a plural noun (for example, sorte haler, “black tails”) or if it appears after a definite article plus noun (for example, den sorte hale, “the black tail”).

Why is it har?

Har is the present tense of the verb at have (to have), meaning “has” or “have” in English. Danish doesn’t change the verb form for different persons (I have, you have, he/she/it has, etc.), so har is used no matter who or what is doing the having.

Can I drop the article en before sort hale?

No, not in this standard construction. In Danish, you generally need an article (unless you’re using a possessive form or talking about certain types of general statements). Saying Hunden har sort hale would sound unnatural or incomplete to native speakers.