de of het insecticide?
het insecticide
pesticide
noun
It is “het insecticide”. The plural is “de insecticides”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: insecticide
Forms
- Article
- het insecticide
- Plural
- de insecticides
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
We hebben het insecticide nodig.
We need the insecticide.
Spuit het insecticide op de planten.
Spray the insecticide on the plants.
Dit insecticide is erg effectief.
This insecticide is very effective.
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 insecticide” rather than as “insecticide” 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.