de of het machtsmisbruik?
het machtsmisbruik
abuse of power
noun · /ˈmɑxts.mɪsˌbrœy̯k/
It is “het machtsmisbruik”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: machtsmisbruik
Forms
- Article
- het machtsmisbruik
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Machtsmisbruik is onacceptabel in elke organisatie.
Abuse of power is unacceptable in any organization.
De directeur werd ontslagen wegens machtsmisbruik.
The director was fired due to abuse of power.
We moeten machtsmisbruik altijd voorkomen.
We must always prevent abuse of power.
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 machtsmisbruik” rather than as “machtsmisbruik” 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.