English (beta) · translation in progress — some pages still show the Dutch source.
Question & answer · 2 min
'De' or 'het' dakkapel? (Dutch grammar)
It is 'de dakkapel'. The word is feminine in Dutch — like 'kapel'. So you say: 'de dakkapel staat op de achterkant', 'onze dakkapel is nieuw'.
Why 'de' and not 'het'
Dakkapel is a compound of 'dak' (het) and 'kapel' (de). In Dutch a compound takes the article of the last word. Because 'kapel' is a de-word, 'dakkapel' also becomes a de-word.
How to use it in a sentence
Examples of correct use: 'de dakkapel is geplaatst', 'onze nieuwe dakkapel', 'een grote dakkapel met drie kozijnen', 'die dakkapel daar'. In the diminutive form it does become 'het dakkapelletje' — all Dutch diminutives are het-words.
