de of het vakmanschap?
het vakmanschap
craftsmanship
noun · /ˈvɑk.mɑnˌsxɑp/
It is “het vakmanschap”. The plural is “de vakmanschappen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: vakmanschap
Forms
- Article
- het vakmanschap
- Plural
- de vakmanschappen
- Diminutive
- het vakmanschapje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Dit prachtige meubelstuk is het resultaat van jarenlang ervaring en vakmanschap.
This beautiful piece of furniture is the result of years of experience and craftsmanship.
Het bedrijf staat bekend om zijn hoogwaardige producten en ongeëvenaard vakmanschap.
The company is known for its high-quality products and unparalleled craftsmanship.
De restauratie van het historische gebouw vereiste veel zorg en vakmanschap.
The restoration of the historic building required a lot of care and craftsmanship.
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 vakmanschap” rather than as “vakmanschap” 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.