A2.24 - Takeaway food

Exceptions in the plural

Uitzonderingen bij het meervoud

Er zijn enkele belangrijke uitzonderingen bij het meervoud zelfstandig naamwoord.

(There are some important exceptions in the plural of nouns.)

What’s special here: plural = ending + (sometimes) a vowel change

In Dutch, many plurals are not just “add something at the end”.

Sometimes the vowel in the word changes to keep the pronunciation natural.

  • lid → leden (vowel changes)
  • gat → gaten (spelling changes to show a long vowel sound)
  • ei → eieren (special plural ending)

1) Vowel change (klinkerverandering): some plurals change the vowel

This is a common pattern with some short, “tight” nouns.

You cannot always predict it perfectly, so learn these as pairs (singular + plural).

Singular Plural What changes?
het lid de leden i → e
het schip de schepen i → e (+ -en)
de stad de steden a → e (+ -en)
  • Tip: if the plural looks “unexpected”, trust the table and memorise it as one item: het schip / de schepen.
  • Article check: in the plural it is almost always de: het schip → de schepen.

2) From short to long vowel in spelling: gat → gaten, dak → daken

Here the vowel sound becomes longer in the plural.

Dutch spelling shows this by removing one consonant after a short vowel.

Singular Plural Spelling logic
het gat de gaten 1 vowel + 1 consonant → open syllable in plural (a becomes long)
het dak de daken same pattern
de dag de dagen same pattern
  • Do not do this: gat → gatten (Dutch usually avoids double consonants here).
  • Self-check: can you hear/feel that the vowel is longer in the plural? gat vs. ga-ten.

3) Plural on -eren: a small but important group

A few common nouns have a special plural ending: -eren.

These are high-frequency words, so it’s worth learning them early.

Singular Plural Note
het kind de kinderen not kinds
het ei de eieren not eien
  • Memory tip: learn them as fixed pairs: kind/kinderen, ei/eieren.

4) Plural on -s: often with family words and “long” endings

Some nouns take -s in the plural (not -en).

This is common with words like family members and words ending in an unstressed vowel sound.

Singular Plural Ending
de broer de broers -s
de oom de ooms -s
  • Self-check: if you add -s, you typically don’t change the vowel: oom → ooms.

Quick checklist before you choose the plural

  1. Is it one of the special plurals? (kinderen, eieren, leden, schepen, steden) → use the learned form.
  2. Does the word look like gat/dak/dag? Then the plural is often -en with a spelling change: gat → gaten.
  3. Is it like broer/oom? Then it often takes -s: broers, ooms.
  4. Final check: plural article is de.
  1. Sometimes the vowel changes in the plural. For example: lid → leden.
  2. Short vowels are sometimes pronounced as long vowels: gat → gaten.
  3. Some words get a plural ending in -eren: ei → eieren.
Enkelvoud (Singular)Meervoud (Plural)Uitzondering (Exception)

het lid (the member)

het schip (the ship)

de stad (the city)

de leden (the members)

de schepen (the ships)

de steden (the cities)

Klinkerverandering (Vowel change)

het dak (the roof)

het gat (the hole)

het glas (the glass)

de dag (the day)

de daken (the roofs)

de gaten (the holes)

de glazen (the glasses)

de dagen (the days)

Van korte naar lange klinker (From short to long vowel)

het kind (the child)

het ei (the egg)

de kinderen (the children)

de eieren (the eggs)

Meervoud op -eren (Plural ending in -eren)

de broer (the brother)

de oom (the uncle)

de broers (the brothers)

de ooms (the uncles)

Meervoud op -s (Plural ending in -s)

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Voor twee personen neem ik twee ___ frietjes en twee snacks mee.

For two people I'll take two ___ of fries and two snacks with me.

2. Ik wil twee ___ bij de nasi, want ik heb nog niet genoeg gegeten.

I want two ___ with the fried rice, because I haven't eaten enough yet.

3. In de oude ___ zijn veel kleine afhaalzaken met pasta en snacks.

In the old ___ there are many small takeout places with pasta and snacks.

4. Op de website staan alle ___ voor Chinees eten en fastfood.

On the website are all the ___ for Chinese food and fast food.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentence in the plural (more than one): adjust the noun and other words so that the sentence sounds natural (e.g. the roof → the roofs).

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Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Ik zie een gat in het dak.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ik zie gaten in de daken.
    (I see holes in the roofs.)
  2. Mijn kind eet een ei in de keuken.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Mijn kinderen eten eieren in de keuken.
    (My children eat eggs in the kitchen.)
  3. Op het schip werkt één lid van de bemanning.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Op de schepen werken leden van de bemanning.
    (On the ships, crew members work.)
  4. In deze stad is er één oude brug.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    In deze steden zijn er oude bruggen.
    (In these cities there are old bridges.)

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Kato De Paepe

Business and languages

KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp

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Last Updated:

Thursday, 07/05/2026 16:17