Questions & Answers about Ik praat met de vrouw.
Why does praat have two 'a's, but the full verb praten only has one?
This is the spelling rule for open and closed syllables in action! The full verb is praten, which we divide into syllables as pra-ten. Because the first syllable ends in a vowel (an "open" syllable), the single 'a' automatically makes a long "aa" sound. When we make the ik (I) form, we drop the -en. If we just wrote prat, the syllable would end in a consonant (a "closed" syllable), making the 'a' sound short. To keep that long "aa" sound from the original verb, we have to double the vowel to make praat.
Why do we use de for vrouw instead of het?
In Dutch, there are two words for "the": de and het. You must use de here because vrouw (woman) is a "common" gender noun. A helpful rule of thumb for A1 learners is that almost all words identifying people (like woman, man, baker, or doctor) will take de.
Is met used exactly the same way as English "with" here?
Yes! Just like in English, you use met when you are doing an action alongside someone (talking with the woman). You will also use met when talking about using an object as a tool, like writing with a pen (met een pen).
How do you pronounce the ouw part of vrouw?
The ou combined with the w makes an "ow" sound, very similar to the English word "cow" or "now". The trickiest part of this word is the start: make sure to put your top teeth on your bottom lip for the v, followed quickly by a rolling or throaty Dutch r before sliding into the "ow" sound.
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