HI THERE, welcome to Learning Dutch with Kathy!
In our lesson today, we are going to learn how the nouns changed in their Plural Forms.
Most of the nouns in Dutch, they are in general added -s or -en in their Plural Form, such as in Items I and II below.
Bearing in mind that in singular form, Nouns include the articles HET and DE, but in plural form, Nouns have only the article DE.
I. Singular Noun + -en --> Plural Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
Het boek |
De boeken |
book |
|
De boom |
De bomen |
tree |
|
Het huis |
De huizen |
house |
|
De oefening |
De oefeningen |
exercise |
|
De tas |
De tassen |
bag |
|
Het feest |
De feesten |
party |
|
de leerling |
De leerlingen |
learner |
|
De hond |
De honden |
dog |
II. De/ Het Singular Noun + -s --> De Plural Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
Het café |
De cafes |
cafe |
|
De moeder |
De moeders |
mother |
|
De appel |
De appels |
apple |
|
Het meisje |
De meisjes |
girl |
|
De jongen |
De jongens |
boy |
|
Het feestje |
De feestjes |
small party |
|
De dochter |
De dochters |
daughter |
For nouns end by long vowels (except vowel e), they have other rules, like in Item III.
III. Singular Noun end with vowels a, i, o, u, y + ‘s --> Plural Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
De opa |
De opa’s |
grandpa |
|
De oma |
De oma’s |
grandma |
|
De foto |
De foto’s |
photo |
|
De auto |
De auto’s |
car |
|
De taxi |
De taxi’s |
taxi |
|
De paraplu |
De paraplu’s |
umbrella |
|
De baby |
De baby’s |
baby |
Some other forms in Plural, such as in Item IV and V.
IV. Singular Noun + -eren --> Plural Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
Het ei |
De eieren |
egg |
|
Het kind |
De kinderen |
child |
|
Het blad |
De bladeren |
leaf |
V. Singular Noun ends by -um --> could be changed to -a/ or plus -s
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
Het museum |
De museums / musea |
museum |
|
Het medium |
De mediums/ media |
media |
|
het stadium |
de stadiums / stadia |
stadium |
Sometimes you can either add -s or -en to a noun to make it plural.
For examples:
1 aardappel ---> 2 aardappelen or 2 aardappels
1 potatoe 2 potatoes
1 zoon ---> 2 zoons or 2 zonen
1 son 2 sons
ATTENTION
Maintain the length of the vowels in nouns:
1- Short vowels maintain short
Een tas --> 2 tassen (short vowel a)
1 bag 2 bags
1 vriendin --> 2 vriendinnen (female friend) (short vowel i)
1 friend 2 friends
1 zus --> 2 zussen (short vowel u)
1 sister 2 sisters
2- Long vowels maintain long
1 boom --> 2 bomen (long vowel o)
1 tree 2 trees
Het jaar --> de jaren (long vowel a)
the year the years
3- Nouns end by s --> z
1 huis --> 2 huizen
1 house 2 houses
De neus --> de neuzen
the nose the noses
4- Nouns end by f --> v
De neef --> de neven
the nephew the nephews
De brief --> de brieven
the letter the letters
EXCEPTIONS
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
Het glas Short a |
de glazen long a |
glass |
|
De weg Short e |
de wegen long e |
road |
|
De dag Short a |
de dagen long a |
day |
|
I --> e, then plus -en |
||
|
Het lid |
De leden |
member |
|
Het schip |
De schepen |
ship |
|
ij -->e, then plus -en |
|
|
|
De mogelijkheid |
De mogelijkheden |
possibility |
|
De overheid |
De overheden |
government |
EXERCISES: Make Plural Nouns
|
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
|
De maand |
|
Month |
|
De week |
|
Week |
|
Het weekend |
|
Weekend |
|
De kamer |
|
Room |
|
De fles |
|
Bottle |
|
De trein |
|
Train |
|
De vriend |
|
Male friend |
|
De vriendin |
|
Female friend |
|
De nicht |
|
Nephew |
|
De neef |
|
Niece |
|
De broer |
|
Brother |
|
De zus |
|
Sister |
|
Het glas |
|
Glass |
|
De stoel |
|
Chair |
|
De schoen |
|
Shoes |
|
Het programma |
|
Program |
|
Het menu |
|
Menu |
|
De radio |
|
Radio |
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