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Questions & Answers about Jij maakt de soep.
The dictionary says to make is maken. Why does maakt have two a's?
This is because of the Dutch spelling rule for open and closed syllables! In the infinitive maken, the syllables are split as ma-ken. The first syllable ends in a vowel, making it an open syllable, so the single a automatically makes a long sound. When we find the verb stem, we chop off the -en, leaving maak. Because this ends in a consonant (a closed syllable), we have to double the a to keep that same long vowel sound.
Why is a -t added to the end of the verb here?
For the present tense of jij (you), the rule is to take the verb stem and add a -t. The stem of maken is maak, so adding the -t gives us maakt.
Could I say Je maakt de soep instead?
Yes! Both jij and je mean you (singular). You use jij when you want to put special emphasis on the person doing the action, as in 'YOU make the soup' (and I will do something else). If there is no special emphasis, je is the normal, unstressed word to use.