de of het oorlogsschip?
het oorlogsschip
warship
noun · /ˈoːr.lɔxˌsxɪp/
It is “het oorlogsschip”. The plural is “de oorlogsschepen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: oorlogsschip
Forms
- Article
- het oorlogsschip
- Plural
- de oorlogsschepen
- Diminutive
- het oorlogsscheepje
- Also means
- combat ship
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het oorlogsschip patrouilleerde de kustlijn om piraterij te bestrijden.
The warship patrolled the coastline to combat piracy.
Het oorlogsschip was uitgerust met geavanceerde wapens en communicatiesystemen.
The combat ship was equipped with advanced weapons and communication systems.
Het oorlogsschip was onderdeel van een internationale vloot die opereerde in conflictgebieden.
The warship was part of an international fleet operating in conflict zones.
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 oorlogsschip” rather than as “oorlogsschip” 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.