de of het koolmonoxide?
het koolmonoxide
carbon monoxide
noun · /koːlmoːnɔksidə/
It is “het koolmonoxide”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: koolmonoxide
Forms
- Article
- het koolmonoxide
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Koolmonoxide is een zeer gevaarlijk gas.
Carbon monoxide is a very dangerous gas.
Zorg voor goede ventilatie tegen koolmonoxide.
Ensure good ventilation against carbon monoxide.
Je ruikt of ziet koolmonoxide niet.
You don't smell or see carbon monoxide.
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 koolmonoxide” rather than as “koolmonoxide” 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.