Learn Dutch: Ik maak nu de soep. - I am making the soup now.

This is exactly how the open and closed syllable spelling rules work! In the full verb maken, the syllables are split as ma-ken. Because the first syllable ends in a vowel (an open syllable), a single 'a' already makes a long sound. For the ik (I) form, we drop the -en, leaving a closed syllable ending in 'k'. If we just wrote mak, it would have a short 'a' sound. To keep the original long 'a' sound, we must double the vowel to maak.

Does the word nu have a short or long 'u' sound?

It has a long 'u' sound! Even though it is spelled with only one u, it is at the very end of the word. That makes it an open syllable. In Dutch, vowels at the end of an open syllable are automatically long, so the spelling rule tells us to drop the extra vowel and just write nu instead of nuu.

The translation says "I am making", but I don't see a word for "am". Why is that?

Dutch does not use a separate "am doing" form for things happening right now in the same way English does. The simple present tense Ik maak translates to both "I make" and "I am making". Adding the word nu (now) makes it extra clear that you are doing it right at this moment.

Why does nu come before de soep instead of at the end of the sentence?