de of het neveneffect?
het neveneffect
side effect
noun
It is “het neveneffect”. The plural is “de neveneffecten”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: neveneffect
Forms
- Article
- het neveneffect
- Plural
- de neveneffecten
- Diminutive
- het neveneffectje
- Also means
- by-product
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
De pil heeft een mild neveneffect.
The pill has a mild side effect.
Welk neveneffect ervaar je het meest?
Which side effect do you experience the most?
De medicatie heeft meerdere neveneffecten.
The medication has multiple side effects.
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 neveneffect” rather than as “neveneffect” 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.