The pattern
For things, the article chooses the pronoun (the short word that replaces a noun): het-words get het, and de-words usually get hij.
- Het-words: het as subject (the one doing something) and as object (the one something happens to). Het boek? Ik lees het.
- De-words: hij as subject, hem as object. De fiets? Hij staat buiten. Ik pak hem.
- At the start of a sentence, die (de-words) and dat (het-words) are very common in speech: Die is te laat.
- More than one thing: ze (or die at the start), whatever the article. De sleutels? Ze liggen op tafel.
- In Flanders and in formal writing, feminine de-words can get zij or ze.
Examples
| Het boek? Het ligt daar. | The book? It's over there. |
| De trein? Hij is te laat. | The train? It's late. |
| De trein? Die is te laat. | The train? It's late. |
| Waar is mijn fiets? Ik zie hem niet. | Where's my bike? I can't see it. |
| Mijn telefoon is kapot, en ik heb hem net gekocht! | My phone is broken, and I only just bought it! |
| Het pakket is er. Fatima heeft het voor je aangenomen. | The parcel has arrived. Fatima took it in for you. |
| Is er nog melk? Ja, die staat in de koelkast. | Is there any milk left? Yes, it's in the fridge. |
| Het raam? Dat staat open. | The window? It's open. |
| De schoenen van Bas? Ze staan bij de deur. | Bas's shoes? They're by the door. |
| De gemeente schrijft dat zij de brug in mei repareert. | The municipality writes that it will repair the bridge in May. |
Why it works this way
Dutch once had three genders (groups of nouns): masculine, feminine and neuter. The neuter nouns became today's het-words, and they kept het. Masculine and feminine nouns now share the article de, and in everyday speech in the Netherlands, people mostly use the masculine hij for a de-word that names a single thing. So in De trein? Hij is te laat, hij does not mean "he". It means "it, for a de-word". Nobody thinks the train is a man.
This is why English speakers who say het for everything go wrong, and why speakers of German, Spanish or Arabic sometimes say zij for a word that is feminine in their own language. Check the Dutch article instead. If you are unsure of it, see De or het.
Substances are a bit looser. With de-words like melk or koffie, die is very common, and you will also hear het: Is er nog melk? Nee, het is op.
Feminine zij has not disappeared. Flanders kept more of the old system: there, a feminine noun like de deur often gets ze: De deur? Ze staat open. Formal writing in the Netherlands does something similar, mainly with organisations and abstract words ending in -ing, -heid or -ie: de regering, de gemeente, de organisatie. This is a tendency in careful writing, not something you need in everyday speech. More in Dutch in the Netherlands and in Flanders.
Die and dat are pointing words (demonstratives, like English "that one"). When you pick up something that was just mentioned, putting die or dat first sounds relaxed and natural. More in Die and dat instead of hij and het in speech.
With people, meaning can win over the article: about het meisje, many people say ze.
Remember: het boek stays het, de trein becomes hij. At the start of a sentence: die for de, dat for het.
Watch out
错误De trein? Het heeft vertraging.
正确De trein? Hij heeft vertraging.
trein is a de-word
错误Waar is mijn sleutel? Ik zie het niet.
正确Waar is mijn sleutel? Ik zie hem niet.
de sleutel, and the object form of hij is hem
错误Is er nog brood? Nee, hij is op.
正确Is er nog brood? Nee, het is op.
brood is a het-word, so it stays het
错误Het raam? Die staat open.
正确Het raam? Dat staat open.
die is for de-words, dat for het-words
Quick check
- Choose hij or het: De bus? ... komt om tien over acht.
- Choose hem or het: Het cadeautje? Mei heeft ... al opengemaakt.
- Fix the pronoun: Mijn laptop is oud. Ik verkoop het.
- Choose die or dat: Kijk, het nieuwe station! ... is mooi, hè?
显示答案
- Hij (it is de bus, a de-word).
- het (cadeautje is a singular diminutive, and singular diminutives are het-words).
- Ik verkoop hem. (it is de laptop, and as an object hij becomes hem)
- Dat (it is het station, so dat, not die).
Use it today
Pick three things in your bag or on your desk and check their article. Then say one sentence about each out loud, like De pen? Hij is leeg. or Mijn telefoon? Die ligt in mijn tas.