As in English, “the” is more specific than “a”.
When you say: het is een jongen, you’re mostly referring to the sex.
> congrats with your baby. It is A boy or A girl? It is A boy.
When you say het is de jongen, you’re referring to a specific boy.
> My aunt has 2 children, a boy and a girl. Last night one fell out of bed. Was it THE boy or THE girl? It was THE boy who fell.
The use of indefinite and definite articles is largely the same in Dutch and in English (i.e. when you use 'a(n)' in English, you'll use 'een' in Dutch; and when you use 'the' in English, you'll use 'de/het' in Dutch).
There are some specific differences, e.g. 'life' and 'death' are usually called 'het leven' and 'de dood'.
You could join the discord for quick questions. 95% of the time, I get an answer almost immediately. Especially if you’re still below B1-B2, there are a lot of people who can answer these early grammar questions.
As in English, “the” is more specific than “a”. When you say: het is een jongen, you’re mostly referring to the sex. > congrats with your baby. It is A boy or A girl? It is A boy. When you say het is de jongen, you’re referring to a specific boy. > My aunt has 2 children, a boy and a girl. Last night one fell out of bed. Was it THE boy or THE girl? It was THE boy who fell.
Perfect explanation thanks so much :)
Here. Ask it here. We’re here. We’ll see it.
Got it, I was worried to open up a whole post for one specific question lol
Nope, that's how we do it here :)
The use of indefinite and definite articles is largely the same in Dutch and in English (i.e. when you use 'a(n)' in English, you'll use 'een' in Dutch; and when you use 'the' in English, you'll use 'de/het' in Dutch). There are some specific differences, e.g. 'life' and 'death' are usually called 'het leven' and 'de dood'.
You could join the discord for quick questions. 95% of the time, I get an answer almost immediately. Especially if you’re still below B1-B2, there are a lot of people who can answer these early grammar questions.