I can name fruits and vegetables — one and several — and spell the plural correctly: peren, druiven, appels, paprika's.
Twee appels: -en, -s, -'s
Twee appels: -en, -s, -'s
After a number the noun is plural: een peer → twee peren. A measure after a number stays singular, unlike English: vijf jaar. In a “how many?” question, Hoeveel and the noun after it come first, then the verb.
The usual ending is -en, not -s: de banaan → bananen. By the syllable rule, a long vowel in an open syllable is one letter (peer → peren, tomaat → tomaten); after a short vowel the consonant doubles (pen → pennen). If two consonants follow the vowel, the vowel stays double: maand → maanden.
After a long vowel, a final f becomes v and s becomes z, as in wife → wives: druif → druiven, huis → huizen. glas has a short vowel, but its s also becomes z: glas → glazen. After ui and ei it's also -en: uien, aardbeien.
The ending -s comes after unstressed -el, -em, -en, and -er, and on words ending in -je: komkommer → komkommers, kopje → kopjes, jongen → jongens.
After a final a, o, u, or i the ending is -'s: paprika's, oma's — an apostrophe English never uses in a plural. You can leave out the apostrophe when you type; the choice exercises check it.
Special: kind → kinderen, stad → steden, dag → dagen, glas → glazen, broer → broers, zoon → zonen or zoons. The plural always takes de: het kind → de kinderen.
Common mistakes:
• ×tomaaten → tomaten.
• ×druifen → druiven.
• ×het kinderen → de kinderen.
The plural: -en, -s, -'s
The plural always takes de.
| Ending | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -en | usually | de banaan → de bananen |
| -s | after unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er, and for words ending in -je | de komkommer → de komkommers |
| -'s | after a final a, o, u, i | de paprika → de paprika's |
| special | learn them with the word | het glas → de glazen |
Spelling the plural
Spell by the syllable rule: an open syllable takes one letter; after a short sound, write two.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| long sound — one letter | de peer → de peren |
| short sound — doubling | de pen → de pennen |
| long sound + f → v | de druif → de druiven |
| long sound + s → z | het huis → de huizen |
Lesson notes
Twee appels: -en, -s, -'s
After a number the noun is plural: een peer → twee peren. A measure after a number stays singular, unlike English: vijf jaar. In a “how many?” question, Hoeveel and the noun after it come first, then the verb.
The usual ending is -en, not -s: de banaan → bananen. By the syllable rule, a long vowel in an open syllable is one letter (peer → peren, tomaat → tomaten); after a short vowel the consonant doubles (pen → pennen). If two consonants follow the vowel, the vowel stays double: maand → maanden.
After a long vowel, a final f becomes v and s becomes z, as in wife → wives: druif → druiven, huis → huizen. glas has a short vowel, but its s also becomes z: glas → glazen. After ui and ei it's also -en: uien, aardbeien.
The ending -s comes after unstressed -el, -em, -en, and -er, and on words ending in -je: komkommer → komkommers, kopje → kopjes, jongen → jongens.
After a final a, o, u, or i the ending is -'s: paprika's, oma's — an apostrophe English never uses in a plural. You can leave out the apostrophe when you type; the choice exercises check it.
Special: kind → kinderen, stad → steden, dag → dagen, glas → glazen, broer → broers, zoon → zonen or zoons. The plural always takes de: het kind → de kinderen.
Common mistakes:
• ×tomaaten → tomaten.
• ×druifen → druiven.
• ×het kinderen → de kinderen.