de of het zwavelzuur?
het zwavelzuur
sulfuric acid
noun · /ˈzʋaː.vəlˌzyːr/
It is “het zwavelzuur”. The plural is “de zwavelzuren”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zwavelzuur
Forms
- Article
- het zwavelzuur
- Plural
- de zwavelzuren
- Also means
- oxide of sulfur, notably:
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het zwavelzuur in de fles is heel sterk.
The sulfuric acid in the bottle is very strong.
Deze batterij bevat zwavelzuur.
This battery contains sulfuric acid.
Meng nooit water met zwavelzuur.
Never mix water with sulfuric acid.
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 zwavelzuur” rather than as “zwavelzuur” 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.