Danish Singular Or Plural? What Form To Use After Numbers Like 101, 1001, Etc.

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swirlyman Tuesday 30th of January 2007 05:01:55 AM
singular or plural? - One of my Danish language textbooks has the statement:
\"If én is the last component of a numeral it follows the gender of the noun concerned:
tusind og én nat
hundrede og ét kilo

(N.B. Both nouns are in the singular).\"

My first question is, should I infer from the N.B. that all numbers ending with \"one\" when spoken, i.e. 101, 501, 2001, 3000001, etc. are followed by the singular rather than plural form? So \"101 dag\" rather than \"101 dage\", \"101 million\" rather than \"101 millioner\", ...

My second question is, for this same set of numbers, is the long form én/ét always used at the end, or is it used interchangeably with the short form en/et? So, are \"hundrede og én\" and \"hundrede og en\" equally said, or does it depend on something?

Mathieu Wednesday 31st of January 2007 01:12:58 AM
- As for Dutch, \"tusind og én nat\" is idiomatic, and \"hundrede og ét kilo\" is singular because \"kilo\" always is singlar (100 kilo is also singular). the examples that you mentioned are indeed plural in Dutch, in spite of the \"one\" part. It\'s an odd statement they mention in that book, I think you cannot make that inference - they just picked poor examples there. In Dutch, you do say \"thousand and one thing[b]s[/b]/day[b]s[/b]/etc\", in spite of the \"night\" and the \"kilo\" being singular like that.

In Dutch, the ´ accents are neccesary. Without it, you\'d get the normal indefinite article. It would be like saying \"thousand and a\" instead of \"thousand and one\", and that\'s not what you want.

But I don\'t speak Danish so I can\'t say anything with certainty for you :)

Stine Wednesday 31st of January 2007 10:13:21 PM
- [quote]\"101 dag\" rather than \"101 dage\"[/quote]

Correct :)

[quote]
So, are \"hundrede og én\" and \"hundrede og en\" equally said, or does it depend on something?[/quote]

\"Hundrede og én\" is said when you want to stress that\'s there not just 100, but also one more
\"Hundrede og en\" is just \"neutral\"

Mathieu Thursday 01st of February 2007 06:18:03 AM
- The \"101 dag\" thing is interesting - it\'s an obvious violation of structural laws that are assumed to govern all languages (the \"én\" is embedded in a larger phrase and therefore can\'t establish an agreement relationship with \"dag\" to pass on its singular features.. it\'s not supposed to at least ;)). If I were still studying I\'d go bother one of my professors about this :) But for the time being I\'ll just assume the rumours that Danish is the work of aliens to be true :D

It\'s not the first time I discover something \'impossible\' about Danish anyway.. I dig it :)

Stine Friday 02nd of February 2007 03:57:56 AM
- Velkommen til det danske sprogs forunderlige verden :p

Phrasebase Archive
	swirlyman	Tuesday 30th of January 2007 05:01:55 AM
	singular or plural? - One of my Danish language textbooks has the statement: \"If én is the last component of a numeral it follows the gender of the noun concerned: tusind og én nat hundrede og ét kilo (N.B. Both nouns are in the singular).\" My first question is, should I infer from the N.B. that all numbers ending with \"one\" when spoken, i.e. 101, 501, 2001, 3000001, etc. are followed by the singular rather than plural form? So \"101 dag\" rather than \"101 dage\", \"101 million\" rather than \"101 millioner\", ... My second question is, for this same set of numbers, is the long form én/ét always used at the end, or is it used interchangeably with the short form en/et? So, are \"hundrede og én\" and \"hundrede og en\" equally said, or does it depend on something?
	Mathieu	Wednesday 31st of January 2007 01:12:58 AM
	- As for Dutch, \"tusind og én nat\" is idiomatic, and \"hundrede og ét kilo\" is singular because \"kilo\" always is singlar (100 kilo is also singular). the examples that you mentioned are indeed plural in Dutch, in spite of the \"one\" part. It\'s an odd statement they mention in that book, I think you cannot make that inference - they just picked poor examples there. In Dutch, you do say \"thousand and one thing[b]s[/b]/day[b]s[/b]/etc\", in spite of the \"night\" and the \"kilo\" being singular like that. In Dutch, the ´ accents are neccesary. Without it, you\'d get the normal indefinite article. It would be like saying \"thousand and a\" instead of \"thousand and one\", and that\'s not what you want. But I don\'t speak Danish so I can\'t say anything with certainty for you :)
	Stine	Wednesday 31st of January 2007 10:13:21 PM
	- [quote]\"101 dag\" rather than \"101 dage\"[/quote] Correct :) [quote] So, are \"hundrede og én\" and \"hundrede og en\" equally said, or does it depend on something?[/quote] \"Hundrede og én\" is said when you want to stress that\'s there not just 100, but also one more \"Hundrede og en\" is just \"neutral\"
	Mathieu	Thursday 01st of February 2007 06:18:03 AM
	- The \"101 dag\" thing is interesting - it\'s an obvious violation of structural laws that are assumed to govern all languages (the \"én\" is embedded in a larger phrase and therefore can\'t establish an agreement relationship with \"dag\" to pass on its singular features.. it\'s not supposed to at least ;)). If I were still studying I\'d go bother one of my professors about this :) But for the time being I\'ll just assume the rumours that Danish is the work of aliens to be true :D It\'s not the first time I discover something \'impossible\' about Danish anyway.. I dig it :)
	Stine	Friday 02nd of February 2007 03:57:56 AM
	- Velkommen til det danske sprogs forunderlige verden :p