Learn Dutch: Ons marktaandeel is ongeveer een kwart, maar we willen de helft. - Our market share is about a quarter, but we want half.

In Dutch compound nouns, the article and gender are always determined by the final word in the compound. Since it is het aandeel (the share), the combined word marktaandeel is also a neuter word. Therefore, it takes the neuter possessive pronoun ons.

Why does the sentence use de helft instead of just half?

When you are talking about the noun form of a half (as in one half of a whole), you must use de helft. The word half is an adjective or adverb, which you would use in phrases like een half uur (a half hour) or het glas is half vol (the glass is half full).

English says we want half without an article, but Dutch says we willen de helft. Is the article de mandatory here?

Yes, you almost always need the definite article de before helft when referring to a proportion of a total. You can think of it as literally saying we want the half of the market share.

How do fractions like een kwart work in Dutch compared to de helft?

While a half is de helft, a quarter is een kwart (using the indefinite article). If you want to say three quarters, you just say drie kwart. The word kwart acts as a measurement unit here, similar to how you would count items or kilos.