When do you use de, and when do you use het as an article? That’s one of the most frequent questions beginning Dutch students ask. De and het in Dutch are both used to translate the English ‘the.’ So let’s take a look at how you can find out.
First of all, there are rules. The two main ones are: nouns in the plural always take de as an article, e.g. het boek, de boeken. And the other rule: nouns with a diminutive take het as an article: for example de tafel, het tafeltje (the little table). And what about nouns with a diminutive in the plural? They take de: de tafeltjes.
Other interesting rules: you can make verbs nouns, as in the verb ‘to make’, it would be ‘the making.’ In Dutch, it’s ‘maken’ and the verb nouns ‘het maken.’ And, you’ve guessed it: these verb nouns take het as an article. Also, nouns referring to people usually take ‘de.’
There are many more rules. But for every rule, there’s an exception – it’s Dutch after all. Let’s see some of those rules. Words ending with -ing, -ij, -el, -er, -ie and -heid take de as an article. Well, usually. So… does it make sense to learn these endings by heart?
Unfortunately not so much. But here’s an important tip to you: most nouns take de as an article. So you can make a list of het-words, or you can simply watch this video below with the 100 most common het-nouns.
Another piece of advice. If you hear someone using a word you regularly use, and it isn’t what you expected, write it down. Make a list of those words you typically struggle with. Also, feel free to get one email a day with an exercise to practise your articles here or to download this app to practice with flashcards.
And a little hint: in my online courses, I always add the article next to the word. See you there!