de of het parkeerterrein?
het parkeerterrein
parking lot
noun · /pɑrˈkeːr.tɛˌrɛi̯n/
It is “het parkeerterrein”. The plural is “de parkeerterreinen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: parkeerterrein
Forms
- Article
- het parkeerterrein
- Plural
- de parkeerterreinen
- Diminutive
- het parkeerterreintje
- Also means
- outdoor car park, parking area
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het parkeerterrein is vol op zaterdag.
The parking lot is full on Saturday.
We lopen naar het parkeerterrein.
We walk to the parking lot.
Waar is het dichtstbijzijnde parkeerterrein?
Where is the nearest parking lot?
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 parkeerterrein” rather than as “parkeerterrein” 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.