de of het isolement?
het isolement
isolation
noun · /ˌi.zoː.ləˈmɛnt/
It is “het isolement”. The plural is “de isolementen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: isolement
Forms
- Article
- het isolement
- Plural
- de isolementen
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het isolement kan zwaar zijn voor sommigen.
Isolation can be difficult for some.
Na de verhuizing voelde hij zich in isolement.
After the move, he felt himself in isolation.
We moeten het isolement van ouderen voorkomen.
We must prevent the isolation of the elderly.
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 isolement” rather than as “isolement” 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.