# Danish: plural forms



## AnnieKJ

Hello.  Can someone translate these words into Danish in the plural?  I can only find the singular in online dictionaries, and the grammars are so confusing...

ships
sailors
thralls
fires

Thanks so much!

AnnieKJ


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## madshov

Hi AnnieKJ

Here is the translation of your words:
ships: skibe
sailors: sømænd
thralls: slaver
fires: brande

You are absolutely right, that the grammar can be really confusing. Normally the pluralis ending is _-er_, but as you can see from the above examples, there are many exceptions. Next time, you can check out http://www.retskrivningsordbogen.dk, which is the official Danish spelling dictionary. Here you can type in a noun and see its pluralis form. Hope it helps you!


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## AnnieKJ

Thanks.  I see what you mean about the multitude of plural forms -- wow!  I would indeed use that site if I could understand it, but no clue, I'm afraid.  What is it I click to see the plural form?

So "brande" would be fires as in houses set ablaze?  (In English the word "brand" would just mean a torch held in the hand, though it's rather an archaic word).  And about "thrall," I'm finding "træl" in online dictionaries -- is the plural of "træl" "træler"?  One more question; of "træl" and "slaver", is there one that is more archaic?

Thanks very much for your patience.

AnnieKJ


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## Roberto1976

AnnieKJ said:


> One more question; of "træl" and "slaver", is there one that is more archaic?


 
I am neither Danish nor a historical linguist, but Wikipedia states that _träl_ (the Swedish for "træl") comes from Old Norse _þræl,_ or _þræll_, which in origin probably meant "errand boy". It was a term indicating slaves during the Nordic Iron Age (until about 1050, I think) and the Middle Ages. [Source]

Therefore, I would guess that "træl" is older than "slav". However, I am not sure bacause the the noun "slav" comes from Greek and is also very old. It all depends on when "slav" entered the Danish language!


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## madshov

Sorry I should maybe have been more specific about the website. 'Brand' means 'fire' in English, so 'a house on fire' is translated into 'et hus i brand'. You are right that the correct word for 'thrall' is 'træl' in Danish and is definitely more archaic than 'slave'. As Roberto1976 states the word stems from Old Norse. The plural of 'træl' is 'trælle'. I should probably have suggested that instead of 'slaver', but is not used so often anymore.


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## AnnieKJ

Thanks, both of you. This is really helpful. As it's Iron Age that's being referred to, the more archaic the better. Thrall is outdated in English, too, dating presumably from the shared linguistic history with Nordic languages. But with living reminders in a word like "enthralled."


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## Andreas_Jensen

"Træl" is exclusively used when referring to the viking age and before that. In the middle ages I'm not completely sure, but after that I would find the use of "træl" extremely odd. As an example negro slaves from the renaissance would never be referred to as "trælle". As such the word is not archaic but it is only used for (predomiantly white) slaves from the periods stated above. I'm guessing that the usage is quite similar in English? As for living reminders the term "træls" is used in Jutland, meaning something that is really annoying/tedious but in an understated manner that you can't really do anything about... Something that reminds you of being a thrall I suppose 

About the plural forms... My girlfriend is Spanish and I've really had my problems teaching her our "wonderful" language. We made the rule (which is not always true but most of the time) that if a noun has one syllable it get's an "-e" in the end. If it has two or more syllables it gets "-er" in the end. If it ends in an "e" it simply gets an "-r". It they and in an "r" they get an "-e". Of course there are irregular conjugations but she has found the rule pretty handy... Your examples:

ships: skib, skibe (regular)
sailors (lit. "seaman"): sømand, sømænd (irregular but similar to ENG "man"/"men")
thralls: slave, slaver (regular) : træl, trælle (regular, but see below)
fires: brand, brande (regular)

You see? 

PS: If words with one syllable are supposed to be pronounced with a "fast" vowel on the first syllable in the plural they recieve an extra konsonant. An example is "trælle" where the first vowel isn't "prolonged" as for example in "skibe". You never really know when this happens and it can be tricky... But most of the time the extra consonant isn't added.

Andreas


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## Alxmrphi

AnnieKJ said:


> Thanks, both of you. This is really helpful. As it's Iron Age that's being referred to, the more archaic the better. Thrall is outdated in English, too, dating presumably from the shared linguistic history with Nordic languages. But with living reminders in a word like "enthralled."



I can't quite make the link....

þræll -> thrall (errand boy, I think someone said, or slave) -> enthralled.

I don't see how it's linked to enthralled?


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## AnnieKJ

Thanks, Andreas; those are a useful set of rules for next time.  

Alex, re: "enthralled" -- I don't know the right terminology for a drift in meaning, but it would originally have meant "enslaved," and the word must have gradually shifted to mean something more emotional than economic, as in enraptured, fascinated, spellbound, captivated (there's another word with a similar shift in meaning).


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## Sepia

For fun I might add this one from West-Jutland dialect:

When something is boring, annoying or tiring they use the adjective: træls

ex: "Hvor er det bare træls at høre hele to timer på den historielærer!" 

"How exhausting it to listen to that history teacher for two full hours!"


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