de of het levensgevaar?
het levensgevaar
mortal danger
noun · /ˈleː.və(n)s.xəˌvaːr/
It is “het levensgevaar”. The plural is “de levensgevaren”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: levensgevaar
Forms
- Article
- het levensgevaar
- Plural
- de levensgevaren
- Also means
- lethal danger
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
De patiënt verkeert nog steeds in levensgevaar.
The patient is still in mortal danger.
Die val bracht hem in levensgevaar.
That fall put him in mortal danger.
Zijn toestand is buiten levensgevaar.
His condition is out of mortal danger.
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 levensgevaar” rather than as “levensgevaar” 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.