Questions & Answers about Barnet kan lege frit i haven.
Why is barnet one word, and what does -et mean?
In Danish, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front.
So:
- et barn = a child
- barnet = the child
The ending -et is the definite ending used with many et nouns, also called neuter nouns.
Why is haven also one word, and why does it end in -en instead of -et?
Because have is an en noun, not an et noun.
So:
- en have = a garden
- haven = the garden
Danish has two grammatical genders for nouns:
- en nouns
- et nouns
The definite form is usually:
- -en for en nouns
- -et for et nouns
That is why you get barnet but haven.
How do I know that it is et barn but en have?
Unfortunately, you usually have to learn the gender together with the noun.
A good habit is to memorize nouns as whole units:
- et barn
- en have
There are some patterns, but they are not reliable enough to guess every time. Most Danish nouns are en nouns, but many very common words are et nouns, so it is best to learn them individually.