Questions & Answers about De student betaalt de koffie.
Why is there no word for 'for' in this sentence?
In English, we say someone 'pays for' something. In Dutch, the verb betalen (to pay) can take the item being bought directly as its object. You simply say betaalt de koffie (literally 'pays the coffee'). No extra preposition is needed.
How do I change this sentence into a yes/no question?
You use verb-first inversion. Simply swap the subject (de student) and the verb (betaalt) around. The question becomes: Betaalt de student de koffie? (Is the student paying for the coffee?).
If I make this a question, do I drop the -t on betaalt?
No, you keep the -t here. The rule for dropping the -t in questions only applies to the second-person singular pronoun (jij or je). Since de student is a third-person subject (like 'he' or 'she'), the verb keeps its standard ending: Betaalt de student de koffie?
Why does the verb betaalt have a double 'a', when the dictionary form is betalen?
This is a great example of the Dutch open and closed syllable spelling rules! In the infinitive be-ta-len, the a is at the end of a syllable, which automatically makes it a long vowel sound. When we remove -en to find the stem, we are left with betal. Because this syllable now ends in a consonant, the 'a' would become a short sound. To keep the long 'a' pronunciation, we must double the vowel to make the stem betaal. Then we add the -t to match de student.
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