The Dutch article. In English it’s simple, there’s just THE.

But in Dutch… You have to choose between DE or HET.

That’s one of those things that Dutch learners experience as an endless struggle. In this video we asked the students which is the correct article for a noun: DE or HET.

The punishment? An electric shock!

The goal of this electric challenge video is to combine language learning with fun. And of course we don’t use electric shocks during the BLC Dutch summer school, but we do like to have fun during our classes!

Here are some basic rules and advices.

My advice for using DE and HET

Firstly, don’t try to focus too much on this when you are learning the basic grammar of Dutch. Because you know what? Dutch people have problems with this as well.

In most cases you just have to learn them by heart. Here are some tips which don’t really make sense, but can help you!

Tips for using DE / HET

5 rules: words with DE

There are some basic rules with DE that are easy to remember. The first on my list is one of those. But sorry to say, these are the exceptions.

1. DE: Plural

This one for example: plural nouns always come with DE.

• De video – De video’s (the video – the videos)
• Het boek – De boeken (the book – the books)

That’s pretty logical, right? Sorry, the logic stops here. Now, let’s take a look at some strange rules when a noun is a de-word.

2. DE: Trees and plants, fruit and vegetables

The names of all sorts of trees, plants, fruit and vegetables are mostly with de.

• De boom: de eik, de den, de beuk, de spar (the oak, pine, beech, fir)
• De bloem: de roos, de lelie, de anjer, de geranium (the rose, lily, carnation, geranium)
• De vrucht: de appel, de peer, de druif, de banana (the apple, pear, grape, banana)
• De groente: de tomaat, de komkommer, de wortel, de paprika. (the tomato, cucumber, carrot, pepper)

Of course, there is an exception: het witlof (the chicory)

3. DE: Animals

Almost all names of thousands of animals are DE-words.

• De hond, de kat (the dog, cat)

The strange thing is that ‘the animal’ is het dier. And also, almost all farm animals are HET-words.

• Het paard, het schaap, het kalf, het lam, het varken. (the horse, sheep, calf, lamb, pig.)

4. DE: Musical instruments

The names of almost all music instruments are de-words. For example:

• De gitaar, de drums, de viool, de saxofoon (the guitar, piano, violin, saxophone)

And yes, there are some exceptions as well:

• Het orgel, het keyboard. (the organ, keyboard.)

Maybe you figured out, ‘Hey, all instruments with keys are het’. Sorry, it’s de piano. (the piano)

5. DE: Words ending on –heid, –ie, –ij, – ing

Besides these first four categories, there are some suffixes that determine the article. Words that end with –heid, –ie, –ij, – ing are always combined with de.

• De waarheid, de vrijheid, de gelijkheid, de verkoudheid (The truth, freedom, equality, cold)
• De categorie, de visie, de televisie, de informatie (The category, vision, television, information)
• De maatschappij, de slagerij, de bij, de boerderij (The company, butchery, bee, farm)
• De ketting, de bevrijding, de vergadering, de begroting (The chain, liberation, meeting, budget)

Also, words ending in –ade, -ede, -ide, -ode, -ude

• De kade, de limonade, de schade, de brigade (The quay, lemonade, damage, brigade)
• De vrede, de dwarsdoorsnede, de zinsnede, (The peace, cross-section, phrase)
• De piramide (the pyramid)
• De code (the code)
• De prelude (the prelude)

Those were the rules for determining if a word is a de-word. Now, the het-words.

5 Rules: words with HET

As I said at the beginning of the list of de-words, there are some basic rules that are easy to remember. Let’s start with those.

1. HET: Diminutive

The diminutive always comes with het.

• De lamp – Het lampje (the lamp, the little lamp)

But don’t forget! Diminutive and plural, is always DE.

• De lamp- het lampje – de lampjes (the lamp, the little lamp, the little lamps

      2. HET: Cities, villages, provinces, countries, islands, continents

You don’t say ‘Het Amsterdam’ or ‘Het Londen’, like you don’t say ‘I’m going to the London’. But if you add an adjective, cities, villages etc. often get an article.

• Ik woon in het mooie Amsterdam (I live in beautiful Amsterdam)
• Ik ga op vakantie naar het drukke Londen (I’m going on holiday to busy London)

3. HET: A verb as a noun

Verbs can turn into nouns, if you do this, use het.

• Het wachten duurt lang (The wait is long)

4. HET: Compass points

Points of the compass are always combined with het.

• Ik kom uit het zuiden van Nederland. (I’m from the south of the Netherlands.)

5. HET: Words ending on –asme, –isme and –ment

• Enthousiasme (enthusiasm)
• Organisme (organization)
• Entertainment (entertainment)

DE / HET: Compound words

In Dutch you can join two words together to get a samengesteld woord (compound word). For example when you have

• Het strand (the beach)
• De stoel (the chair)

So the chair you use on the beach is called a strandstoel. And now, what do you think? The second word determines the article. So it’s de strandstoel.

But keep in mind that it’s het strandstoeltje.

De / Het: You don’t have to choose

And of course, just because it can, in some cases both of them are correct!

• De / het matras (matrass)
• De / het deksel (lid)
• De / het pedal (pedal)
• De / het sort (kind)

Nederland

Don’t forget, when you are talking about the Netherlands, you don’t use an article.

• Ik ga naar Nederland (I’m going to the Netherlands)

How do you learn at the BLC Dutch Summer and Winter School?

In the video you see students getting electric shocks. We obviously don’t use this in the classes of the summer school. But it shows something that is really important. That is to have fun when studying Dutch.

We use our own textbook ‘Het Lesboek’ and the classes are based on three elements.

1. Practise

Although you can learn the theory on your own, you need others to practise what you’ve learned. During the BLC Summer school you will focus on speaking most of the time.

2. Self-study

As a self-taught person, I know it is possible to learn a lot by yourself as long as the materials are well structured. If the materials are presented in a fun way, then there is not even that much discipline needed.

3. A teacher

I believe that interactive classes with a good teacher, contribute to a better understanding, better speaking and listening skills, a faster learning process, and it prevents learning things incorrectly.

How do you learn at the BLC Dutch Summer and Winter School?

In the video you see students getting electric shocks. We obviously don’t use this in the classes of the summer and winter school. But it shows something that is really important.

That is to have fun when studying Dutch.

We use our own textbook ‘Het Lesboek’ and the classes are based on three elements.

1. Practice

Although you can learn the theory on your own, you need others to practise what you’ve learned. During the BLC Summer school you will focus on speaking most of the time.

2. Self-study

As a self-taught person, I know it is possible to learn a lot by yourself as long as the materials are well structured. If the materials are presented in a fun way, then there is not even that much discipline needed.

3. A teacher

I believe that interactive classes with a good teacher, contribute to a better understanding, better speaking and listening skills, a faster learning process, and it prevents learning things incorrectly.

Bart de Pau
online Dutch teacher & founder of the Dutch Summer School & Dutch Winter School