Questions & Answers about De boer heeft een koe en een varken.
Since we are learning about irregular plurals, do koe and varken take the -eren ending?
No, they do not take -eren, but koe is irregular in its own way! The plural of koe is koeien (cows). Varken already ends in -en, so it just takes a standard -s to become varkens (pigs).
Wait, varken ends in -en. Isn't that normally a plural ending?
Usually, yes! But varken is a singular noun that just happens to end in -en. Other common singular words like this are deken (blanket) and teken (sign). Because they already end in an unstressed -en, their plurals are formed by adding an -s instead of another -en.
What is the plural of boer?
Boer is a completely regular noun. You just add -en to get boeren (farmers).
I know varken is a het word and koe is a de word. Why do they both use een?
The indefinite article (a/an) is always een in Dutch. It never changes, regardless of whether the noun is a de word or a het word.
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