Chapter II
Articles

Dutch has three articles--two definite articles, de and het (the),
and one indefinite article een (a or an).

Definite articles: de and het
De is used before masculine and feminine nouns and het before
neuter nouns. We usually talk about de- words and het- words.
There is no way to tell from a given word whether it is one or the other.
It is advisable therefore to learn the article together with the new noun
that is being learned. Two useful rules may be worth remembering:

1. All plurals are de- words: although huis is
a het- word (het huis), the plural is de huizen, etc.
2. All singular diminutives are het- words: although tafel

(table) is a de- word (de tafel), the diminutive is het
tafeltje, etc.

Note: Plurals take preference over diminutives, so we say not only de huisjes but also de tafeltjes, etc.
Indefinite article: een
Een is pronounced very much like an in an apple and
also has the same meaning and function as the indefinite article in English:
a
child in English is een kind in Dutch; an accident is

een
ongeluk in Dutch.