Den blå kjole er pæn.

to be

Breakdown of Den blå kjole er pæn.

• den: the
• kjolen: the dress
• blå: blue

Questions & Answers about Den blå kjole er pæn.

Why is it den and not det?

Because kjole is a common-gender noun in Danish, and common-gender nouns take den in the definite form.

• en kjole = a dress
• den blå kjole = the blue dress

If the noun were neuter, you would use det instead:

• et hus = a house
• det blå hus = the blue house

So the article depends on the noun’s gender, not on the English translation.

Why is it kjole and not kjolen?

This is a very common question.

In Danish, when a noun has an adjective before it and is definite, you normally use:

• den/det/de + adjective + noun

So you say:

• den blå kjole

not:

• den blå kjolen

Compare:

• kjolen = the dress
• den blå kjole = the blue dress

So Danish usually does not keep the -en/-et ending on the noun when there is a definite article before an adjective.

Why doesn’t blå change form here?