Breakdown of Mange ansatte er med i fagforeningen.
den ansatte
the employee
mange
many
fagforeningen
the trade union
være med i
to be in
Questions & Answers about Mange ansatte er med i fagforeningen.
Why is it mange here, and not mye?
Mange is used with countable nouns in the plural, like ansatte (employees).
Mye is used with uncountable or mass nouns.
- mange ansatte = many employees (you can count them)
- mye tid = much time (you don’t count individual units in the same way)
So with a plural countable noun (ansatte), you must use mange, not mye.
Why does ansatte end in -e and not -er, like many other plural nouns?
Ansatt is originally an adjective meaning employed. It is very often used as a noun meaning employee.
Adjectives that are used as nouns follow adjective patterns, not regular noun patterns:
- singular: en ansatt (one employee)
- plural: ansatte (employees)
So you get ansatte, not ansatter or ansattere. The -e ending is the regular plural ending for adjectives, which carries over when the adjective is used as a noun.
Is ansatte plural or definite here? How can I tell?