Rules for Articles in Dutch
July 17, 2022 at 1:24 pm,
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Compared to English, Dutch has a higher level of complexity when it comes to definite articles. There is only one definite article in English, and that is the. The definite articles in Dutch are de and het. The gender of the noun determines whether you use de or het.
In Dutch, there are three genders: neuter, feminine, and masculine. De can be used with both feminine and masculine nouns. When a noun is neuter, het is used. There is a gender for every noun, and some nouns have two genders. Both de and het can be applied to both masculine and neuter nouns.
notice your mistakes.
. | de-nouns | het-nouns |
singular | de de man (the man) | het het huis (the house) |
plural | de de mannen (the men) | de de huizen (the houses) |
Plural nouns always take the article de, regardless of their gender.
Singular | Plural |
De man | De mannen (the men) |
Het kind | De kinderen (the children) |
Het boek | De boeken (the books) |
Het koekje | De koekjes (the cookies) |
Singular diminutive nouns (verkleinwoorden) take the article het.
- Het koekje (the cookie)
- Het huisje (the little house)
- Het kindje (the little child)
Infinitives take the article het.
- Het lopen (to walk)
- Het lezen (to read)
- Het spelen (to play)
Nouns that refer to persons take the article de.
- De man (man)
- De vrouw (woman)
- De vriend (friend)
Exception: het kind (child)
Nouns that end with -ing, -er, -heid, -in, or -aar take the article de.
- De vergadering (meeting)
- De bakker (baker)
- De overheid (government)
- De vriendin (girlfriend)
- De ambtenaar (civil servant)
Exception: het water
Two syllable nouns that start with be-, ge-, ver-, or ont- take the article het.
- Het beheer (management)
- Het geluid (sound)
- Het verband (connection, context, relation)
- Het onthaal (reception)
Trees, plants, vegetables, and fruits take the article de.
- De eik (oak)
- De orchidee (orchid)
- De spinazie (spinach)
- De appel (apple)
Exception: (de/het) knoflook (garlic)
Nouns that end with -isme, -ment, -sel, or -um take the article het.
- Het activisme
- Het instrument
- Het voedsel (food)
- Het museum
Exception: de datum (date)
Sports take the article het.
- Het tennis
- Het voetbal (football)
- Het judo
Male, female, and neuter were the separate articles used back then for each gender. The distinction between the feminine and masculine articles has vanished in modern Dutch; they are now both 'de'. Talking about the gender of articles is no longer relevant due to the emancipation of feminine and masculine articles. Instead, we simply discuss de and het nouns, with 'het' being the article of a neuter noun of course.
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