De or het detective?
de detective
private detective
/deː.tɛkˈti.və/
Article and plural
- Singular
- de detective
- Plural (meervoud)
- de detectives
- Diminutive
- het detectivetje
Why de?
- No reliable spelling rule decides this one, so de detective is learned together with the word.
- Every plural takes de, so it is de detectives whatever the singular takes.
- Every diminutive takes het: het detectivetje.
The rules for de and het, with the exceptions
Check the article of another noun
What de changes
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| this, these | deze detective | deze detectives |
| that, those | die detective | die detectives |
| which (the … that) | de detective die … | de detectives die … |
| our | onze detective | onze detectives |
Meaning in English
- private detective
- work of detective fiction, such as a detective novel, film, or series
Remember detective with Spreek
Spreek keeps the Dutch words you meet, article included, reviews them with you and then has you use them in a spoken conversation.
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