Learn Hardcore Danish: Hunden er god.

“Hunden” means “the dog.” In Danish, definite articles are not separate words as in English; instead, they are attached to the noun as a suffix. For common gender nouns like hund (dog), adding –en forms the definite, equivalent to adding “the” in English.

What is the role of “er” in the sentence?

“Er” is the present tense of the irregular verb “at være” (to be), and it functions as a linking verb in the sentence. It connects the subject hunden with the predicate god, much like “is” in the English sentence “The dog is good.”

Why doesn’t the adjective “god” have an ending, such as –e, in this sentence?

In Danish, adjectives used in a predicative position (following a linking verb like er) remain uninflected. That is why we have “hunden er god” rather than “hunden er gode.” However, when adjectives are used attributively (directly before a noun), they typically take an ending (often –e), for example, “en god hund” (an indefinite version) or “den gode hund” (definite version).

How does the structure of “Hunden er god.” compare to English sentence structure?

The sentence follows a Subject + Verb + Predicate order, which is very similar to English. Hunden is the subject, er is the linking verb, and god is the predicate adjective that describes the subject. This similarity helps English speakers recognize the basic pattern even though some grammatical elements (like definite article formation) differ.