de of het achterdek?
het achterdek
afterdeck
noun · /ˈɑx.tərˌdɛk/
It is “het achterdek”. The plural is “de achterdekken”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: achterdek
Forms
- Article
- het achterdek
- Plural
- de achterdekken
- Diminutive
- het achterdekje
- Also means
- quarterdeck
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
We zaten rustig op het achterdek.
We were sitting quietly on the afterdeck.
Leg de trossen op het achterdek, alsjeblieft.
Put the ropes on the afterdeck, please.
Het achterdek was glad van de ochtenddauw.
The afterdeck was slippery from the morning dew.
Why this article
No rule predicts it
This one has to be memorised. No spelling pattern marks it as neuter, which is exactly why it is worth learning as “het achterdek” rather than as “achterdek” on its own.
The rules that do work
- • Every plural takes “de”, without exception.
- • Every diminutive ending in -je takes “het”, without exception.
- • Nouns ending in -ing, -heid, -tie, -teit or -schap take “de”.
- • Roughly two thirds of all nouns take “de”, so it is the better guess.
Other nouns whose article has to be memorised
Stop guessing de and het
Woordje has a practice mode for exactly this: it shows a noun and asks for the article, and keeps asking until you stop getting it wrong.