The first thing he told us was that Boyton had no clear ideas of any sort, and never laid down any definite rule. This lent him a certain diffidence in regard to most points,—a diffidence which in the case of HET became positive fright. At the first mention of de, het, and an adjective, he gives as much encouragement as he can.
ALL NOUNS TO WHICH HET IS PREFIXED ARE NEUTER.
An insurmountable Difficulty for the Englischman is the right use of the Particles, especially het. Sufficient rules cannot be given, E. g. het mooie kind: eene sterke vrouw, een zwart schip.
This is certain, that all Nouns, to which the Particles, het, dat, or dit, are added are of the Neuter Gender; on this account, the e final, in the Adjectives, when joined with such words, is, generally, rejected.
Even this rule admits of an exception. E. G. It is never said: een snel vogel: de groote paard. But it is correct to say, if the meaning admits it, een groote man. (also groot.) A native may be consulted with advantage.
When Boyton is labouring under strong emotion, the effect is always to increase the number of commas, colons, and other stops.
His agitation may also be traced in the way he harks back to any fundamental rule that he has already discussed ad nauseam.
DEN IS NOT A PURE NOMINATIVE.
It is quite pathetic to note how he urges on his readers to reserve their dezen and dien and den for the accusative.