de of het plichtsverzuim?
het plichtsverzuim
dereliction of duty
noun · /ˈplɪxts.fɛrˌzœy̯m/
It is “het plichtsverzuim”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: plichtsverzuim
Forms
- Article
- het plichtsverzuim
- Also means
- neglect of duty
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Plichtsverzuim kan leiden tot problemen.
Dereliction of duty can lead to problems.
Zijn afwezigheid was duidelijk plichtsverzuim.
His absence was clearly dereliction of duty.
We moeten elk plichtsverzuim voorkomen.
We must prevent every dereliction of duty.
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 plichtsverzuim” rather than as “plichtsverzuim” 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.