de Paul / d'Anna

Articles with Names

Level 1

Put an article before a first name: de Paul, den Tom, d'Anna.

How It Works

English says "Paul is coming". Luxembourgish says "the Paul is coming": De Paul kënnt. The article is a normal part of the sentence, and you don't translate it into English.

Men's names take the masculine article den. By the n-rule, it becomes de before most consonants: de Paul, de Marc, but den Tom, den Eric. A name always keeps its own final n: De Ruben kënnt.

Women's and girls' names are neuter, so they take d': d'Anna, d'Marie, d'Sophie. That is also why you usually say hatt for a woman you call by her first name, and säin and seng for her things.

In the dative, for example after ginn (give) or hëllefen (help), both take dem: Ech ginn dem Paul d'Buch. Ech hëllefen dem Anna. The name is neuter, so it is dem Anna, not der Anna. See dative articles.

Titles are different. With Här (Mr) and Madamm (Mrs, Ms), the article goes with the title: den Här Weber, d'Madamm Weber. Madamm is feminine, so you say si for her.

Talking to someone. When you call a person by name, leave the article out: Moien, Anna! Paul, kënns du? See moien and äddi.

Examples (6)

  1. De Paul kënnt muer.

    Paul is coming tomorrow.

    Word by Word: The Paul comes tomorrow.

    Den becomes de before P.

  2. D'Anna schafft zu Esch.

    Anna works in Esch.

    Women's names take the neuter d'.

  3. Den Tom ass doheem.

    Tom is at home.

    Den keeps its n before T.

  4. Ech ginn dem Paul d'Buch.

    I'm giving Paul the book.

    Paul is in the dative, so the article is dem.

  5. Ech hëllefen dem Anna.

    I'm helping Anna.

    Anna is neuter, so the dative is dem, not der.

  6. Moien, Anna! Wéi geet et?

    Hi, Anna! How are you?

    No article when you speak to someone directly.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the article before a first name.

    Paul kënnt muer.
    De Paul kënnt muer.

    When you talk about someone, a first name takes an article in Luxembourgish.

  • Using the feminine dative der with a woman's name.

    Ech hëllefen der Anna.
    Ech hëllefen dem Anna.

    Women's first names are neuter, so the dative article is dem.

  • Using the article when you call someone by name.

    Moien, d'Anna!
    Moien, Anna!

    When you speak to a person directly, the name stands alone.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

de Paul / d'AnnaLevel 1Articles with Names

Learn This First

Before Articles With Names, learn The Masculine Article Den and The Short Article D'.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

d'