d'

The Short Article D'

Level 1

D' is the for feminine nouns (d'Fra), neuter nouns (d'Kand) and every plural (d'Kanner, d'Männer).

How It Works

1. Where d' is used

  • Feminine singular: d'Fra (the woman), d'Schoul (the school), d'Zäit (the time)
  • Neuter singular: d'Kand (the child), d'Haus (the house), d'Buch (the book)
  • All plurals, even of masculine nouns: de Mann → d'Männer, den Hond → d'Hënn

So a masculine noun changes its article in the plural, which helps you spot a plural.

2. How to write it
Write d, an apostrophe and the noun with no space. Inside a sentence d' stays lowercase and the noun keeps its capital: Ech gesinn d'Kand. At the start of a sentence only the D is capitalized: D'Kand spillt. See noun capitalization.

3. Subject and object
Like den, d' is the same in the nominative and the accusative: D'Fra liest d'Zeitung. (The woman is reading the newspaper.)

4. When the full forms come back

  • With an adjective before the noun, use déi (feminine and plural) or dat (neuter): déi nei Schoul, dat grousst Haus, déi kleng Kanner. See déi/dat before adjectives.
  • In the dative, d' becomes der, dem or den: der Fra, dem Kand, de Kanner. See dem/der/den (dative).

Women's and girls' first names are neuter, so they take d' as well: d'Anna (see de Paul/d'Anna).

Examples (6)

  1. D'Fra liest d'Zeitung.

    The woman is reading the newspaper.

    Fra and Zeitung are both feminine.

  2. D'Kand spillt am Gaart.

    The child is playing in the garden.

    Kand is neuter.

  3. D'Kanner sinn doheem.

    The children are at home.

    Every plural takes d'.

  4. D'Männer drénken e Béier.

    The men are drinking a beer.

    Mann is masculine (de Mann), but its plural takes d'.

  5. Mir kafen d'Haus.

    We are buying the house.

    D' is also the object form.

  6. Wou ass d'Schoul?

    Where is the school?

    Inside a sentence, d' is lowercase.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting a space after the apostrophe.

    D' Kand spillt.
    D'Kand spillt.

    D' is written directly against the noun, with no space.

  • Using den with the plural of a masculine noun.

    Den Männer drénken e Béier.
    D'Männer drénken e Béier.

    Den is only for masculine singular nouns. All plurals take d'.

  • Keeping d' when an adjective comes before the noun.

    Ech gesinn d'grousst Haus.
    Ech gesinn dat grousst Haus.

    Before an adjective the full article returns: dat for neuter nouns and déi for feminine and plural nouns.

How It Connects

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

d'Level 1The Short Article D'

Learn This First

Before The Short Article D', learn Three Cases.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

d'