Plural Countries
In English, we usually treat plural country names as singular (e.g., "The United States is big"). In Dutch, countries with plural names always take the plural definite article de and require plural verb forms.
| The United States is very big. | De Verenigde Staten zijn heel groot. |
Pronouns referring back to these countries must also be plural.
| Besides the fact that the United States is big, it has a lot of nature. | Buiten dat de Verenigde Staten groot zijn, hebben ze veel natuur. |
| We were visiting the Philippines. | We waren de Filipijnen aan het bezoeken. |
Mountain Ranges
Similarly, specific mountain ranges are grammatically plural in Dutch. Names like de Alpen (the Alps) and de Pyreneeën (the Pyrenees) take the plural article and will always pair with a plural verb.
| The Alps are a beautiful mountain range. | De Alpen zijn een prachtig gebergte. |
| The Pyrenees border the ocean. | De Pyreneeën grenzen aan de oceaan. |
Notice in the first example above that while the names of specific ranges are plural, the general Dutch word for a mountain range, het gebergte, is a singular neuter noun.
| This mountain range is very old. | Dit gebergte is heel oud. |
Rivers and Oceans
Like mountain ranges, specific rivers and oceans also require the definite article de. However, an individual river or ocean is grammatically singular and takes a singular verb.
| The Rhine is a long river. | De Rijn is een lange rivier. |
| The Amazon is wide and flows through the forest. | De Amazone is breed en stroomt door het bos. |
| The ocean is very deep there. | De oceaan is daar erg diep. |
Continents
Unlike rivers, mountain ranges, and plural countries, continents (like most individual countries) are treated as singular proper nouns and generally do not take a definite article at all.
| Europe has many famous rivers. | Europa heeft veel bekende rivieren. |
| Did you want to travel to Europe? | Wilde u naar Europa reizen? |