Vi købte en høj reol, fordi bøgerne lå på gulvet i hele rummet.

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Breakdown of Vi købte en høj reol, fordi bøgerne lå på gulvet i hele rummet.

• en: a
• høj: tall
• bogen: the book

Questions & Answers about Vi købte en høj reol, fordi bøgerne lå på gulvet i hele rummet.

Why is it en høj reol and not et høj reol or en høje reol?

Because reol is a common-gender noun in Danish, so it takes en, not et.

The adjective høj is also in the correct form for:

• indefinite
• singular
• common-gender

So:

• en høj reol = correct
• et højt skab = with a neuter noun, the adjective would usually get -t
• høje reoler = plural

So the pattern here is very typical Danish adjective agreement.

What exactly does reol mean?

Reol usually means a shelving unit, bookcase, or set of shelves.

In this sentence, it most naturally means a bookcase / tall shelf unit, since the reason given is that the books were on the floor. Danish can also say bogreol for a more explicitly book-related shelf, but reol by itself is very common.

Why is it bøgerne and not a separate word for the books?

In Danish, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun.

Here is the pattern:

• bog = book
• bøger = books
• bøgerne = the books

So Danish often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.