Questions & Answers about We bestellen een taartje in het café.
How does the word taartje show that it is a little cake?
The base word is taart (cake or pie). To make it a diminutive (a small version), we just add the basic suffix -je to the end, making it taartje.
If I wanted to say the little cake instead of a little cake, would I use de or het?
You would use het. A very important rule in Dutch is that all diminutive words ending in -je are always het words, even if the original base word used de (like de taart). So it becomes het taartje.
Does adding -je change how the base word taart is pronounced?
Not here! You just say taart and add the -je sound (which sounds like 'yuh'). The spelling and vowel length of the base word stay exactly the same.
Why does the verb bestellen end in -en here?
Because the subject is we. In Dutch, plural pronouns like we (we), jullie (you all), and zij (they) always use the full dictionary form of the verb, which almost always ends in -en.