de of het zwangerschapsverlof?
het zwangerschapsverlof
maternity leave
noun · /ˈzʋɑ.ŋər.sxɑps.vərˌlɔf/
It is “het zwangerschapsverlof”. The plural is “de zwangerschapsverloven”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zwangerschapsverlof
Forms
- Article
- het zwangerschapsverlof
- Plural
- de zwangerschapsverloven
- Diminutive
- het zwangerschapsverlofje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Ze gaat binnenkort met zwangerschapsverlof.
She will soon go on maternity leave.
Het zwangerschapsverlof duurt zestien weken.
The maternity leave lasts sixteen weeks.
Mijn collega is nu met zwangerschapsverlof.
My colleague is currently on maternity leave.
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 zwangerschapsverlof” rather than as “zwangerschapsverlof” 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.