De and het

by **Marco** » August 30th, 2005, 12:56 pm

You're right, Bieneke, I had forgotten about that.

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by **BigBadBill** » September 1st, 2005, 6:31 pm

i start my first 2 weeks of intensive training on 19 sept. i will post to let people know how good they are. i have already had to do an intake test over the phone and a grammer test online to assess my level. the course will then be designed around me. the tutors have been instructed to talk to me only in dutch so the first few days could be hard work but it shouldnt be much differant from work. :lol:

BBB

by **Sue** » September 6th, 2005, 8:19 am

My fiance said that I am better at the de/het's than his Dutch friend!

Not sure if that is a compliment to me or an insult to his friend!

Sue :wink:

by **LaPingvino** » September 6th, 2005, 12:18 pm

Definitly a compliment to you. Dutch people usually don't make that mistakes :wink:

.

by **Anja** » October 13th, 2005, 10:47 am

One of my friends told me, when you are not sure what to use ('de' or 'het') - use 'een'! :lol:

Another one told me, use 'de' - it always sounds better than 'het' :lol:

A friend of mine, who lives in Holland for quiet a while and has a dutch husband, told me that she always uses what sounds nicer to her ears!

by **EetSmakelijk** » October 13th, 2005, 4:03 pm

Using what sounds nicer was what I did in French with le and la if I didn't know which it was. Some things just didn't sound good so I knew it was the other article.
Making de and het mistakes really bugs me for some reason.
Groetjes,

by **Wim** » October 13th, 2005, 5:06 pm

Hallo Eet Smakelijk,

Don't bother, there are more important things. I can imagine you'd like to do things right, but if you mix up de and het you'll be understood anyway.

If you're really in doubt: use de and you'll have a 70% chance to make the right guess. I could give you some rules of thumb to help you on your way, but unfortunately they don't cover all words...

Met vriendelijke groeten,
Wim

by **Shea** » October 13th, 2005, 6:46 pm

Het -words:

The diminutives : het boekje,het kopje....
The nouns that finish in : -eum,-ium,-tuut,-ment:het museum,het instituut,het abonnement...
The infinite verbs :het lijden,het huilen....
Nouns that finish in :-isme: het impressionisme....
Nouns of material : het metaal,het hout,het karton....
Nouns of verbs with the prefix BE- ,GE-,ONT-,VER-: het begrip,het gezang...

De-words:
Nouns that finish in -heid,-ing,-te,-teit,-tie: de gezondheid,de verdeling....
Nouns of plants,flowers,trees,fruits,and nouns referred to people:de koe,de dame,de eik,de agent...
The seasons:de lente ,de herfst...
The instruments:de piano,de hamer...
Nouns of several illnesses:de griep ,de kanker...

If they are wrong ....correct me!!

Shea

by **Sue** » November 3rd, 2005, 8:24 pm

I bought a Prisma book today (the number of times I mention their books, they should offer me a job as a rep!) called "spellinggids" which lists whether it is "de" or "het", what the plural is, what the diminutive is, bijvoeglijke naamwoorden and for verbs lists the past tense and past participle. It is my new friend!

Sue

by **Marco** » November 3rd, 2005, 8:25 pm

That's useful!

But be aware, sometimes it can be better to try something for yourself and not rely on your guide too much. :wink:

by **Sue** » November 3rd, 2005, 8:30 pm

Marco wrote:That's useful!

But be aware, sometimes it can be better to try something for yourself and not rely on your guide too much.

No - now I have the book it is going with me everywhere!! Just need a bigger handbag!

I know what you are saying Marco, I will put it on the shelf and only use it when I HAVE to! Just thought it was something useful to have.

Sue

by **Marco** » November 3rd, 2005, 8:32 pm

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's absolutely useful! But from my experiences I can tell you that it doesn't always help you the way you want it to. But I see you already know that. :wink:

by **Sue** » November 3rd, 2005, 9:38 pm

Marco wrote:Oh, don't get me wrong, it's absolutely useful! But from my experiences I can tell you that it doesn't always help you the way you want it to. But I see you already know that.

Oh yes - but you could have told me a few years ago before I bought all the books!!!! I have waaaaaay too many grammar books!

Tomorrow I will start reading some Agetha Christie short stories in Dutch and then afterwards read the equivalent in English. Thought it would be a good idea.

Sue

by **iandominicp77** » November 5th, 2005, 2:11 pm

Erg interresant!!!

Sue, tell me how it goes morgen..... if it works, I might try doing the same thing..... only if it's something....

by **Sue** » November 5th, 2005, 7:13 pm

iandominicp77 wrote:Erg interresant!!!

Sue, tell me how it goes morgen..... if it works, I might try doing the same thing..... only if it's something....

I read one short story and I didn't do too badly. I had to look up quite a few words though. I prefer short stories, doing a whole long book might take too long at the moment! Fortunately I have the version in English which I read AFTER I have read the Dutch version, just to check I understood it all.

Got sidetacked doing decorating this weekend so I will start again sometime next week.

Sue

De and het

De/Het

De /Het

de/het

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