de of het brevet?
het brevet
certificate
noun · /brəˈvɛt/
It is “het brevet”. The plural is “de brevetten”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: brevet
Forms
- Article
- het brevet
- Plural
- de brevetten
- Also means
- formal document, licence, permit, diving, papal brief
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Hij heeft net zijn duikbrevet gehaald.
He just got his diving certificate.
Je hebt een brevet nodig voor deze cursus.
You need a certificate for this course.
Waar is het brevet dat je kreeg?
Where is the certificate you received?
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 brevet” rather than as “brevet” 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.