de of het oorlogspad?
het oorlogspad
warpath
noun · /ˈoːr.lɔxsˌpɑt/
It is “het oorlogspad”. The plural is “de oorlogspaden”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: oorlogspad
Forms
- Article
- het oorlogspad
- Plural
- de oorlogspaden
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
De onkundige polemisten uit de hoofdstad waren weer eens op oorlogspad.
The ignorant polemicists from the capital were once again on the warpath.
De stam koos het oorlogspad.
The tribe chose the warpath.
Na de ruzie was hij op het oorlogspad.
After the argument, he was on the warpath.
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 oorlogspad” rather than as “oorlogspad” 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.