Hullet i tanden er lille.

In Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

• hul = hole
• hullet = the hole
• tand = tooth
• tanden = the tooth

So Danish often uses endings where English uses a separate word like the.

Because Danish nouns belong to different grammatical genders.

• et hul → neuter noun
• en tand → common gender noun

In the definite singular:

• neuter nouns usually take -et → hullet
• common gender nouns usually take -en → tanden

So the difference comes from noun gender, not meaning.

The basic form is et hul.

That means:

• et hul = a hole
• hullet = the hole

So if you look it up in a dictionary, you would look for hul, not hullet.

That is just the normal inflected spelling of hul in Danish: hul → hullet.

Some short Danish words double the final consonant when an ending is added. So this is something you learn as part of the noun’s forms, much like:

• hul → hullet
• tal → tallet

It is not a different word—just the definite form of hul.

Good question. Normally, many Danish adjectives add -t with neuter nouns, but lille is irregular.

You say:

• en lille bil = a small car
• et lille hul = a small hole

And after er, it also stays lille in the singular:

• Bilen er lille = The car is small
• Hullet er lille = The hole is small

So lille is the correct form here.

Because the sentence refers to a specific tooth: the tooth.

In hullet i tanden, the idea is the hole in the tooth, not just a hole in any random tooth. Danish often uses the definite form in this kind of phrase when the noun is specific from the context.

If you said i en tand, that would mean in a tooth, which sounds less specific.

i tanden is a prepositional phrase meaning in the tooth. It tells you where the hole is.

So the subject is not just hullet but the whole phrase:

Hullet i tanden = the hole in the tooth

In other words, i tanden modifies hullet.

Because this sentence uses a linking verb structure:

subject + er + adjective

So:

• Hullet i tanden = subject
• er = is
• lille = small

This is the same kind of structure as in English:

• The hole in the tooth is small

If you wanted the adjective before the noun, you would need a different structure, such as:

• et lille hul i tanden = a small hole in the tooth
• det lille hul i tanden = the small hole in the tooth

Yes, and that is very natural Danish.

There is a difference in focus:

• Der er et lille hul i tanden = There is a small hole in the tooth

  • this introduces the hole as new information

• Hullet i tanden er lille = The hole in the tooth is small

  • this talks about a hole that is already known or already being discussed

So both are correct, but they are used in slightly different situations.

Yes. In a normal Danish main clause, the finite verb typically comes second.

Here the structure is:

• Hullet i tanden = first element
• er = second element
• lille = rest of the sentence

So the sentence follows normal Danish word order.

You can change the order for emphasis, but then the verb still stays in second position. For example:

• I tanden er hullet lille

That is grammatical, but more marked and less neutral than Hullet i tanden er lille.

No. If the adjective comes before the noun in a definite phrase, Danish normally uses den/det/de plus the adjective, and the noun itself is not made definite with -en/-et.

So you say:

• det lille hul i tanden = the small hole in the tooth

Not:

• hullet lille
• det lille hullet

Because hul is a neuter noun, the correct form is det lille hul.