Search from various English teachers...
Maurizio
Neutral nouns in Dutch
Hi!
Is there any trick to recognize if a noun is neutral in Dutch, so that one can get the article right?
Thank you
Maurizio
Sep 23, 2017 9:19 AM
Answers · 3
1
Not really.
However, if you use "tje" or "je" ending nouns you can't go wrong, they're always neutral. :-)
September 23, 2017
Hi Maurizio,
Good question! Fortunately we do have some helpful ''rules'' to help you remember what articles to use when!
Here they are:
- All words that are made smaller with (e)(t)je are neuter (de vrouw – het vrouwtje, de man – het mannetje),
- Practically all words that and on standard suffixes like -ing, -ij, -ie, -e and -heid are feminine (de vereniging, de bakkerij, de
politie, de dame, de moeilijkheid),
- All infinite verbs used as nouns are neuter (het eten, het fietsen),
- Words starting with standard prefixes like ge-, ver, ont- and be- and not ending on -ing are neuter (het gevaar, het verhaal,
het ontzag, het beslag),
- Words ending on -el or -er are quite often de-words (de tafel, de beker),
- Buildings, however, are often het-words (het theater, het huis, het station – just not de bioscoop, since that ends on -scoop,
which is one of those standard suffixes),
- In plural all words get de (de vrouwtjes, de boeken)
and, naturally, all words referring to persons(individuals) are de-words (de minister, de bakker).
Hope these are helpful for you.
September 28, 2017
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Maurizio
Language Skills
Dutch, English, German, Italian, Spanish
Learning Language
Spanish
Articles You May Also Like

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
10 likes · 7 Comments

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
12 likes · 9 Comments

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
8 likes · 2 Comments
More articles