de of het opperbevel?
het opperbevel
supreme command
noun · /ˈɔ.pər.bəˌvɛl/
It is “het opperbevel”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: opperbevel
Forms
- Article
- het opperbevel
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Hij heeft het opperbevel over de troepen.
He has supreme command over the troops.
Het opperbevel werd overgedragen aan de generaal.
The supreme command was transferred to the general.
Het opperbevel komt rechtstreeks van de president.
The supreme command comes directly from the president.
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 opperbevel” rather than as “opperbevel” 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.