Lidwoord

Lidwoord, in Dutch grammar, is a determiner that sits before a noun and helps indicate the referent of that noun. In standard usage, lidwoorden are the definite articles de and het, and the indefinite article een. The concept also covers situations where no article is used (nul- lidwoord) in plural or mass-noun contexts, and in general statements.

Definite and indefinite usage. De is used with most common gender singular nouns and with all plural nouns. Het is used with neuter singular nouns. Een is used with singular count nouns to mark indefiniteness. There is no plural form of een. In many general statements with plural or mass nouns, the noun appears without an article (nul- lidwoord), as in auto’s kosten geld or melk is gezond. The choice between de and het often requires memorization, as it does not always follow a simple rule based on meaning.

Other determiners. In practice, Dutch also employs demonstrative determiners such as dit, dat, and possessive determiners like mijn, jouw. These function similarly in front of nouns but are typically categorized as determiners beyond the core definite/indefinite lidwoorden. The term lidwoord is therefore most often used for de, het, and een, while other determiners are described as part of the broader determiner system.

Adjective agreement. When an attributive adjective accompanies a noun, it usually carries the ending -e if the noun is preceded by de or het or if the noun is plural (for example, de grote auto, het grote huis, grote auto's). With an indefinite singular noun introduced by een, the adjective typically does not take -e (een grote auto).

See also: determiner, article, Dutch grammar, noun phrase.