de of het vluchtmisdrijf?
het vluchtmisdrijf
hit and run
noun · /ˈvlʏxtˌmɪs.drɛi̯f/
It is “het vluchtmisdrijf”. The plural is “de vluchtmisdrijven”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: vluchtmisdrijf
Forms
- Article
- het vluchtmisdrijf
- Plural
- de vluchtmisdrijven
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het vluchtmisdrijf is strafbaar.
Hit and run is punishable.
De bestuurder pleegde een vluchtmisdrijf.
The driver committed a hit and run.
De politie onderzoekt het vluchtmisdrijf.
The police are investigating the hit and run.
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 vluchtmisdrijf” rather than as “vluchtmisdrijf” 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.