Articles: de, het, een

Articles — de, het, een — sit inside the Grammaticale correctheid rubric on the Schrijven exam. Mixing up de and het is a common error that can lower your grade. While many words must be memorized, there are three 'hard rules' that you should use to get full points every time.

1. The Plural Rule (Meervoud)

The rule that catches the most plural mistakes: All plural nouns use de. It does not matter if the singular word is a het-word. Once you have more than one, it always becomes de.

• het kind (the child) → de kinderen (the children)
• het formulier (the form) → de formulieren (the forms)

2. The Diminutive Rule (Verkleinwoorden)

Words that end in -je, -tje, or -pje are 'diminutives' (making things small). These are always het-words. This is common in the exam when you write a briefje (short note).

• het briefje (the note)
• het meisje (the girl)

3. Specific vs. Non-specific (een vs. de/het)

Use een (a/an) when you mention something for the first time or if it is not a specific one. Use de or het (the) when you are talking about a specific thing that both people know.

• Example: "I bought a car (een auto). The car (De auto) is red."