de of het wapensysteem?
het wapensysteem
weapons system
noun · /ˈʋaː.pə(n).siˈsteːm/
It is “het wapensysteem”. The plural is “de wapensystemen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: wapensysteem
Forms
- Article
- het wapensysteem
- Plural
- de wapensystemen
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het wapensysteem is nu operationeel.
The weapons system is now operational.
Het wapensysteem wordt uitgebreid getest.
The weapons system is being extensively tested.
Dit wapensysteem is van onze bondgenoten.
This weapons system belongs to our allies.
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 wapensysteem” rather than as “wapensysteem” 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.