ubestemt

Ubemsethed, or indefinitness, is a linguistic term used to describe reference to non-specific or unknown entities. In many language traditions, including Danish, indefiniteness contrasts with definiteness, where a noun phrase identifies a particular object known to the listener. The concept helps explain how speakers signal whether they refer to a general member of a class or to a specific item.

In Danish grammar, indefiniteness is typically marked by the indefinite article before a singular noun. The common gender singular article is en, and the neuter singular article is et. For example, en mand means “a man,” and et hus means “a house.” There is no indefinite article in the plural; plural indefiniteness is usually expressed by bare nouns or through quantifiers such as nogle or nogle få, for example nogle biler meaning “some cars.” The definite forms are created either by a separate determiner (den/det) or by suffixing the noun in a definite plural, for instance manden (the man) or huset (the house).

Adjectives agree with definiteness as well. Indefinite phrases use independent adjectives, as in en stor bil (a big car) or et stort hus (a big house for neuter). When the noun phrase becomes definite, the adjective takes a definite or weakened form, as in den store bil or det store hus. Ubestemt forms thus play a central role in Danish noun phrase structure, distinguishing non-specific reference from specific, identifiable referents.