This paper examines patterns in omission and substitution of articles in Dutch by Czech FL learners. Why do some learners from L1 backgrounds without articles show persistent variability in their article production? Firstly, the paper briefly refers to recent research on L2 and FL language acquisition of articles. Furthermore, article use in Dutch and Czech is described, focusing on definiteness. Finally, a comparative analysis of the determined language tools is carried out in order to compile a hypothesis with regard to the patterns of incorrect article use by Czech FL learners of Dutch. Following Hawkins (2004) and Trenkic (2009), it is argued that the FL learners primarily focus on the semantics of articles instead of taking into account the morpho-syntactic function of this category. This misanalysis potentially leads to omission and substitution errors in the FL article production.