Taalportaal - the digital language portal

Dutch
Frisian
Saterfrisian
Afrikaans

Show all

Definite Article

quickinfo

Frisian has two definite articles, viz. de and it; their distribution is dependent on the number and the gender of the noun. Plural nouns invariably have the article de, while singular nouns have de for common gender and it for neuter. Modern Frisian articles no longer inflect for case, except for a few petrified expressions and constructions. The former Old Frisian case system has also left its traces in cases where the article it varies with de, for instance in the phrase yn 'e hûs in the house next to the noun it hûs.

After some prepositions we find reduction of de to 'e and it to 't. In some other prepositional phrases, the definite article may even completely disappear, for instance in nei tsjerke to (ones's own) church.

The main function of definite articles is to introduce identifiable referents of the Noun Phrase (NP). The referents of NPs with indefinite articles have usually not been identified yet. In addition, there are some uses in which articles may have a different function, for instance distributive in tsien euro de moanne ten euro's per month and in alienable possession as replacement for the possessive pronoun as in hy pakte de fyts he took his bicycle. We find the definite article relatively frequently also in place names, for instance in De Lemmer, which is bare Lemmer in Dutch.

Standard form
Stress
Nominal ellipsis
Reduced forms
Older case forms
Variation of de and it
Lack of the definite article in prepositional phrases
Use

[+]Standard form

The definite article shows a number distiction. In the singular it also has a gender distinction. Common nouns take the definite article de /də/, neuter ones take it /ət/. Plural nouns always have the article de, irrespective of the gender of the noun. Schematically, the distribution is as follows:

Table 1

	Singular	Plural
Common gender	de	de
Neuter gender	it	de

Some examples are provided in (1) and (2):

de hûn

the.SG.C dog.SG.C

the dog

de hûnen

the.PL dog-PL

the dogs

it keal

the.SG.NEUT calf.SG.NEUT

the calf

de keallen

the.PL calf-PL

the calves

extra

The Schiermonnikoog dialect

The only West Frisian dialect that still displays a three gender system is the one of the island of Schiermonnikoog. It is, however, remarkable that this three-way system is not reflected in the distribution of the articles. Rather, the dialect's system is comparable to the one in the other Frisian dialects, that is, singular neuter nouns have the definite article it, and masculine and feminine nouns display de. Plural nouns have de, too. The situation with respect to articles is different compared with demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns and the inflection of adjectives. In these instances the three genders are still discernible. For more information about the genders in the dialect of Schiermonnikoog, see three genders in the dialect of Schiermonnikoog.

extra

Literature

For a short general overview of the Frisian article, see Folkertsma (1944/45).

[+]Stress

The articles de /də/ and it /ət/ both have a schwa nucleus, and hence they bear no stress. Stress may be used; then the NP acquires a special meaning of uniqueness, one of a kind, etc. For example:

De AFUK is it adres foar Fryske boeken

the AFUK is the adress for Frisian books

The AFUK is the best adress for Frisian books

A rather idiomatic use is exemplified in:

Nei syn oerwinning wie Sven Kramer de man

after his victory was Sven Kramer the man

This approximately has the meaning that Sven Kramer was most respected and popular.

[+]Nominal ellipsis

De forms de and it are not allowed in nominal ellipsis, i.e. when the following noun is not expressed, and the article is the only prenominal element in the NP. In this case, the definite article turns to the forms dy before common nouns and dat before neuters. Compare:

Hy seach in boat, mar de boat wie net te keap

he saw a boat, but the boat was not for sale

He saw a boat, but the boat was not for sale

b.	*Hy seach in boat, mar de ___ wie net te keap

c.	Hy seach in boat, mar dy ___ wie net te keap

If we replace the common NP de boat the boat by the neuter NP it skip the ship, then at first sight it seems that the article it is nevertheless permitted:

Hy seach in skip, mar it wie net te keap

Clearly, however, in this sentence the pronoun it is involved; it represents the whole NP it skip, and not the single noun skip. If we force the interpretation of nominal ellipsis we see that it is ungrammatical indeed, and that the form dat is called for:

It skip bûtendoar wie te keap, mar it skip yn 'e loads net

the ship outside was for sale, but [the ship in the hall] not

The ship outside was for sale, but the ship in the hall was not

b.	*It skip bûtendoar wie te keap, mar it ___ yn 'e loads net

c.	It skip bûtendoar wie te keap, mar dat ___ yn 'e loads net

The forms dy and dat are similar to the forms of the demonstrative pronoun. Historically, the definite article originated from the demonstrative pronoun.

extra

Literature

This section is based on Dyk (2011).

[+]Reduced forms

After some prepositions the article de may be reduced to 'e /ə/, which acts as a clitic. We see this phenomenon especially in fluent speech. Some relevant prepositions are the following:

fan 'e moanne

of the moon

oan 'e muorre

on the wall

tsjin 'e holle

against the head

yn 'e tonne

in the barrel

op 'e tafel

on the table

út 'e stêd

out of town

After other prepositions initial /d/ is retained. We see the full form de especially after prepositions ending in a vowel (e.g. mei with; nei after) or ending in a schwa syllable (e.g. fanwegen because of; tusken between), and usually also after prepositions ending in /r/ (e.g. oer over; foar for; ûnder under) although even in the latter case some speakers allow reduction. The forms with 'e may also be found after the conjunctions en and and om to, as in:

Jelle en 'e frou

Jelle and the wife

Jelle and his wife

It is te let, om 'e trein te heljen

it is too late [PRT the train to catch]

It is too late to catch the train

Reduction after conjunctions is never reflected in the written language, however.

extra

Literature

For cliticization and subsequent reduction of the definite article de, see Visser (1990). For phonological aspects see also the definite article. For a short overview see also Hoekstra (1989). A short older publication is Sytstra (1930).

Likewise, the definite article it can optionally have a special form after prepositions, viz. 't [t]:

fan it/'t hynder

of, off the horse

yn it/'t wetter

in the water

op it/'t finster

on the window

troch it/'t gat

through the hole

oer it/'t lân

over the land

ûnder it/'t konsert

during the concert

The reduced form 't is not allowed if the preposition ends in /t/:

út it/*'t easten

from the east

sûnt it/*'t beslút

since the decision

The reduced form is obligatory in certain fixed expressions:

fan 't/*it hynder

off the horse

in a flurry

tsjin 't/*it sin

against the mood

unwillingly

op 't/*it heden

at the present

at the moment

yn 't/*it paad

in the path

in the way

This enclitic use of a reduced form 't should not be confused with the optional reduction of it at the beginning of a sentence. Compare the following song line:

't Hoantsje ropt: kûkelû / 't Doke ropt: rûkûkû!

The cock says: cock-a-doodle-doo! / The pigeon says: coo-coo!

This is an instance of proclisis.

[+]Older case forms

Frisian once had the Old Germanic case system, which broke down after the Old Frisian period. Nowadays, only some remnants are left in a few fixed expressions. The genitive form is practically restricted to religious language:

de grime des Heare

the wrath of God

Katechismus fan de leare der wierheit

[book title (1878)]

catechism of the doctrine of the truth

The majority of the case forms is couched in a prepositional phrase:

op 'en paad

on one's way

op 'en baan

up and about, on the go

op 'en doer

in the long run

op 'en heechsten, bêsten, slimsten

at the most, best, worst

op 'en nij

once again, anew

út 'en fjouweren

at a gallop

út 'en draaf

at a trot

út 'en rûgen

roughly

út 'en readens sjen, skine

to have a red tint, glow

troch 'en dei

during the day; usually

troch 'en bank

by and large

einlings en te'n lêsten

at long last

tenein (= te 'n ein)

broken-down, worn-out; exhausted

tenearsten (= te 'n earsten)

initially, at first; for the time being

Some expressions show the original female form der:

mei der tiid

in (due) time

út 'er haast

in haste

uterstee (= út 'er stee) net

not at all

yn der ivichheid net

not in a month of Sundays (never)

yndertiid

at the time, way back then

by der hân

to the left (for the driver of a wagon)

fan der hân

to the right (for the driver of a wagon)

The rare form den mostly has an emphatic flavour:

foar den duvel

for the devil, damn you

foar den donder

bloody well, damn it

al den dei

all day long

al den duvel

all ... over the place, nothing but ...

Den donder also occurs in a purely nominative position:

Nou het den donder him sels scienmeitse wollen

now has the thunder him self cleanmake wanted

Now has that damned guy tried to excuse himself!

[Brethren Halbertsma, Rimen ind Teltsjes (1871), p. 194]

extra

A comparison with Dutch

Although Frisian and Dutch both lost their morphological case system at the end of the Middle Ages, Dutch has retained the genitive in elevated style. Furthermore, one cannot escape from the impression that Dutch has retained considerably more fixed expressions with older case forms than Frisian. If this impression is correct, then an explanation could presumably be found in the different social function of the languages: Frisian has predominantly remained a spoken language, without a fully fledged distinguished register. Note that also in Dutch the expressions with older case forms are mainly restricted to the written language.

extra

Literature

The case system for definite articles in Old Frisian can be found in Steller (1928:54) or Bremmer (2009:54).

The emphatic use of den is noticed in Verdenius (1942). See for this use in Dutch dialects also Overdiep (1937:290).

[+]Variation of de and it

A few nouns which take it show the article de in certain contexts. The inverse case, i.e. de becoming it, is also found.

A frequent case of a neuter noun that may nevertheless show the common definite article de in some contexts, is it hûs the.N house.N the house. After certain prepositions, we see the article de (or reduced 'e):

yn 'e hûs

in the house

indoors, inside; into the house

út 'e hûs

out the house

out of the house

ta de hûs yn/út

to the house in/out

into/out of the house

troch de hûs

through the house

Note that hûs in these examples can only refer to one's own home, or a house which is salient in the discourse context. If hûs has its normal meaning, only the regular definite article can be used:

Myn faam wennet yn it/*'e hûs by de brêge

My girl-friend lives in the house near the bridge

What is involved here historically is the old singular dative form (Olf Frisian tha) of the neuter article (Old Frisian thet). This dative form developed into de in Modern Frisian and, as a consequence, coincided with the common gender article de. Other examples are:

it midden

the middle

yn 'e midden

in the middle

it bosk

the wood

yn 'e bosk

in the wood

it pleit

the lawsuit

yn 'e pleit wêze foar

in the lawsuit be for

plead, argue for

it leach

caustic, lye

immen út 'e leage waskje

someone out the caustic wash

tell someone the plain truth

It is no incident that it are mainly locality terms that are involved in the transition. These are typically used in the context of a dative, which hence becomes the unmarked case, instead of the nominative. Note, in addition, that the form leage in the last-named expression still shows the old dative ending -e of the noun.

There are not many cases of such variation, since there has been a good deal of analogical levelling to the extent that either it or the has been generalized. Some speakers, for example, always use it bosk, also following a preposition, whereas, on the other hand, in Standard Frisian de bosk has been propagated in alle contexts. In a word like de mar the lake the dative form of the neuter article has been generalized in present-day Frisian (cf. Dutch het meer; German das Meer). Where a clear semantic difference is involved, the variation may persist more easily. An example is ein end, which is de ein if interpreted as the last part of a stretch, but it ein in a more independent sense as unit, for instance in it ein tou the piece of rope or it ein rinnen the distance to walk.

extra

Toponyms

Toponyms may typically occur in prepositional phrases, and hence may readily show deviating articles. An example is De Lege Midden The Low Middle, the name of a Frisian region. The noun midden middle has the article neuter it otherwise. A comparable example is the famous leaning tower of the Frisian capital Ljouwert (Leeuwarden), called De Aldehou. This must originate in Old Frisian prepositional phrases like bi/to tha alde hove near/to the old church. Old Frisian hof church'; yard was a neuter noun just like its Modern Frisian counterpart (it) hôf (church)yard. The dialect form (it) hou is the generalized dative form of this noun. However, the development may also go into the other direction. Modern Frisian de mar the lake originates in a dative form, but the toponym It Mar (a village near Heerenveen) still shows the original neuter article.

The mirror image of the article variation mentioned above can be found in the names of the seasons. Normally, they all have common gender, as in de simmer the summer etc. However, after the prepositions fan of and by by, the (reduced) article 't shows up:

fan 't maitiid

this spring

by 't maitiid

in the spring

fan 't simmer

this summer

by 't simmer

in the summer

fan 't hjerst

this autumn

by 't hjerst

in the autumn

fan 't winter

this winter

by 't winter

in the winter

Other are other examples of common nouns which have the article it in prepositional contexts are provided below:

de soad

the boil; cooked mess

by 't soad

galore

de seksje

the section

by 't seksje

galore

de skik

the form; propriety; nature

op 't skik

pleased, happy

de spier

the muscle

yn 't spier

at work

de kier

the chink; crack

yn 't kier

ajar

What has been going on in these cases historically is a phonological process by which a proclitic de was reduced to [d] and sharpened to [t] in certain prepositional contexts. This [t] was then identified with the special form of the neuter article. There has been a good deal of levelling here. As a result, Frisian has a considerable number of neuter nouns which are common gender in Dutch.

extra

Literature

The subject of this section is dealt with thoroughly in Hoekstra and Visser (1996) and in Visser (2011). For a short overview, see Hoekstra (1991).

[+]Lack of the definite article in prepositional phrases

In a number of idiomatic prepositional phrases the definite article is absent in Frisian, as is shown below:

op bêd

in bed

nei, yn, út, fan skoalle

to, at, from school

nei, op see

to, at sea

nei hûs ta, op hûs yn

(back) home

nei, yn, út tsjerke

to, in, from church

nei stêd

to town

nei, om buorren

to, around the village (centre)

nei, by, efter, bûten dyk

to, on, behind, beyond the dike

foar, ûnder, nei iten

before, at, after dinner

op knibbels

on one's knees

op bôle

on the bread

oan bar wêze

on turn be

to be next

om bar

at turn

alternatively, in turns

oer iis

across the ice

foar tsjuster

before dark

Note that the nouns in these expressions mostly refer to entities that are well-known to the speaker. Thus for tsjerke church in nei/yn/út tsjerke, it is the church that the speaker regularly visits, and of which he is a number. If he visits a church as a tourist in a foreign town, he will insert the definite article after such prepositions. So, the nouns in these Adposition Phrases (PPs) more or less function as proper nouns.

It appears that languages can vary in the omission of an article in such expressions, as can already be detected from the English translations. For example, only the cases (a)-(d) are without an article in the comparable idioms in Dutch. On the other hand, Dutch has quite a number of phrases without article where it is obligatory in Frisian:

Table 2

Frisian	Dutch	translation
op 'e souder	op zolder	in the attic
op 'e tafel	op tafel	on the table
op 'e tiid	op tijd	in time
op 'e strjitte	op straat	on the street
yn 'e sliep	in slaap	asleep
yn 'e brân	in brand	on fire
yn 'e ljochte lôge	in lichter laaie	ablaze, in a blaze
op 'e stâl	op stal	in the shed
yn 'e hûs	in huis	indoors
op 'e siik	op zoek	on the look-out
op 't slot	op slot	locked
yn 't sicht	in zicht	in sight
út it sicht	uit zicht	out of sight
op 'en nij	opnieuw	anew, once again

In a number of prepositional phrases with the preposition mei with and a noun denoting a body part, Frisian has to use a definite (or indefinite) article, whereas Dutch and, in some cases, English may leave it out. Compare:

Table 3

Frisian	Dutch	translation
mei de mûle iepen	met open mond	with open mouth
mei de hannen omheech	met opgeheven handen	with uplifted hands / with hands uplifted
mei de holle foardel	met gebogen hoofd	with bowed head / with head bowed

mei in bliedend hert	met bloedend hart	with a bleeding heart
mei in tsjûke tonge prate	met dikke tong spreken	speak with a thick tongue
mei in trilderich lûd	met trillende stem	with/in a tremulous voice
mei in útset lûd	met luide stem	out loud

In addition, there are two expressions in which Frisian has a definite article, where the comparative Dutch phrase shows an indefinite article. These are mei de dronkene kop drunk and mei de lilke kop angry. These have the Dutch counterparts met een dronken kop and met een kwaaie kop, respectively.

Finally, the definite article may be omitted after the preposition fan of. One case is in expressions of abundance: the preposition fan is followed by a bare plural in Frisian, whereas in Dutch the definite article is used. Compare Frisian maitiids tilt it hjir fan blommen in spring this place is full of flowers with Dutch in de lente wemelt het hier van de bloemen. Other examples of a similar kind are provided below:

It wie swart fan minsken op 'e diskemerk

it was black of people at the fair

There were lots of people at the fair

It stjonkt dêr fan plysjes

it stinks there of policemen

That place was infested with policemen

It swimt hjir fan wetter

it swims here of water

This place is awash with water

Dizze tsiis libbet fan maitsen

this cheese lives of maggots

This cheese is crawling with maggots

Furthermore, we see no article after the preposition fan in emphatic expressions in which the prepositional phrase denotes a cause with respect to the intense state of affairs. Some examples are the following:

Hy wie wiet fan it swit

he was wet of the sweat

He sweated heavily

Ik wie ferlegen fan pine

I was embarrassed of pain

The pain was driving me mad

Wy fergriemden ús fan laitsjen

we wasted ourselves of laughing

We laughed fit to burst

Hy wie ferrêde fan toarst

he was torn.apart of thurst

He was dying of thirst

The corresponding Dutch expressions show an article, respectively: hij was nat van het zweet; ik was gek van de pijn; we schudden van het lachen and hij verging van de dorst.

extra

Literature

On the absence of the article in PPs and a comparison with Dutch, see Hoekstra (1987). The omission of the article after the prepositon fan of is dealt with in Hoekstra (1990).

[+]Use

The various uses of the definite article will be briefly touched upon in this section. More can be found in the syntactic part of Taalportaal, following the corresponding links: the function of the definite article, idiom formation, correlative measure constructions and inalienable possession.

In general, in NPs with an article, definite articles are used for known referents, and indefinite articles for referents that have not been identified yet. Hence, the order of the various articles in the opening fragment of an imaginary children tale is fine:

Piter sjocht in kat. De kat hat read hier

Peter sees a.INDEF cat. The.DEF cat has red hair

Peter sees a cat. The cat has red hair

If we change the order of the articles, the sequence becomes unacceptable:

*Piter sjocht de kat. In kat hat read hier

The definite article may also be used generically if the sentence predicate applies to all members of a species:

De dodo is útstoarn

The dodo has died out

However, usually the indefinite article is used for generic purposes. The use of the definite article in denoting abstract unique concepts is more or less the same. As can be seen from the translations below, English usually has no article here:

De tiid hâldt gjin skoft

the time takes no pause

time flies

It libben is swier

life is hard

De moderne maatskippij

modern society

De Fryske skriftekennisse

Frisian literature

De prizen geane omheech

prices are rising

If, however, the pertinent noun is countable, then in indefinite NP is preferred:

Froulju binne oars as manlju

women are different then men

Woman differs from man

Minsken binne stjerlik

people.PL are mortal

Man is mortal

In cases of inalienable possession, the definite article is used instead of the possessive pronoun, for example when referring to body parts:

Hy die de hannen yn 'e bûse

he did the hands in the pocket

He put his hands in his pockets

Hja sloech him op 't wang

she hit him on the cheek

She hit him on the cheek

A definite NP following a quantified noun can have a distributive function in Frisian; English uses the indefinite article here, or the preposition per. Compare:

fiif jirpels de man

five potatoes a/per head

in tsientsje it stik

ten guilders a piece

tûzen gûne de moanne

thousand guilders a/per month

in gûne it pûn

one guilder a/per pound

A curious use of the definite article is also found in a number of place names, where in the Dutch counterparts the article is lacking. Here are some examples:

Table 4

Frisian place name	Dutch cognate
De Jouwer	Joure
De Lemmer	Lemmer
De Harkema	Harkema
De Hommerts	Hommerts
De Westereen	Zwaagwesteinde
De Pein	Opeinde
De Tynje	Tijnje
It Hearrefean	Heerenveen

It should be noted that if such place names are used in a prepositional phrase, the preposition op on/at is used instead of yn in. So we have op 'e Lemmer in Lemmer and yn Ljouwert in Leeuwarden.

extra

Literature

This topic is greatly indepted to an unfinished grammar of Frisian, written in English by Jarich Hoekstra. A short overview of the use of the indefinite article in alienable possession is Hoekstra (1991). An in-depth study of a construction in which inalienable possession is embedded in an adjectival phrase is found in Hoekstra (2004). For the historical background of the article in place names and the accompanying preposition, see Popkema (2006).

References

Bremmer, Rolf H. Jr2009An Introduction to Old Frisian. History, Grammar, Reader, GlossaryAmsterdam/PhiladelphiaJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
Dyk, Siebren2011The morphology of Frisian nominal ellipsis
Folkertsma, Eeltsje B1944/45Ut 'e spraeklear. It lidwurdDe Pompeblêdden: tydskrift foar Fryske stúdzje1732-33
Hoekstra, Jarich1987Op bêdFriesch Dagblad24-10Taalsnipels 51
Hoekstra, Jarich1989De en 'eFriesch Dagblad11-11Taalsnipels 127
Hoekstra, Jarich1990Swart fan minskenFriesch Dagblad30-09Taalsnipels 150
Hoekstra, Jarich1991It midden en de beide einenFriesch Dagblad10-08Taalsnipels 196
Hoekstra, Jarich1991Besitlike lidwurdenFriesch Dagblad15-06Taalsnipels 189
Hoekstra, Jarich2004Read om 'e holle en andere A^P^DP-verbindingen in het FriesTaal en tongval54/55123-142
Hoekstra, Jarich & Visser, Willem1996De en it-wurden yn it FryskUs Wurk4555-78
Overdiep, Gerrit S1937Stilistische Grammatica vna het moderne NederlandschTjeenk Willink
Popkema, Jan2006Moai waar op 'e LemmerDe Pompeblêden7774
Steller, Walther1928Abriss der Altfriesischen Grammatik. Mit Berücksichtigung der westgermanischen Dialecten des Altenglischen, Altsächsischen und AlthochdeutschenHalleMax Niemeyer Verlag
Sytstra, Onno H1930FryskFryslân1142-45
Verdenius, Andries A1942De lidwoordsvorm den (d'n) in het hedendaags FriesDe Nieuwe Taalgids36257
Visser, Willem1990From Modern Frisian to Old Frisian: on cliticisation of the definite articleAspects of Old Frisian PhilologyAmsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik, Band 31/32Rodopi466-482
Visser, Willem2011Historical gender change in West FrisianMorphology2131-56

⇑ Back to top

About this article

Author(s): Siebren Dyk

Category: Frisian Morphology

Keywords: articledeterminerdefiniteindefinitenominal ellipsisstresscasegendernumbercommonneuter

Version: 1.0, December 2015

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Siebren Dyk	December 2015

printreport errorcite

Jump to:

introduction
references
related articles