Breakdown of De presentator praat in de microfoon.
in
in
praten
to talk
de microfoon
the microphone
de presentator
the presenter
Questions & Answers about De presentator praat in de microfoon.
Since this lesson is about the impersonal passive with 'er', how would you change this sentence to use that structure?
To make it an impersonal passive, you remove the subject (de presentator) and use er (there) with the passive verb wordt (is being) and the past participle gepraat (talked). The sentence becomes: Er wordt in de microfoon gepraat. This translates to 'There is talking into the microphone' or 'People are talking into the microphone.' You use this when the action is more important than who is doing it.
Why do we use in here instead of a specific word for 'into'?
In Dutch, the preposition in is used for both 'in' (a stationary location) and 'into' (a direction or action). So, in de microfoon naturally means 'into the microphone' depending on the verb it is paired with.
The rule for a 'he/she/it' subject is to add a 't' to the verb stem. Why is there no extra 't' on praat?
The infinitive of the verb is praten (to talk). When you find the stem by removing the '-en', you get praat. Because the stem already ends in a 't', Dutch spelling rules dictate that we do not add a second 't' for the 'he/she/it' form. It just stays praat.
Why does the word microfoon have two 'o's?
This is a great refresher on Dutch spelling rules for long vowels in closed syllables (a syllable ending in a consonant). To keep the long 'o' sound, you have to double the vowel. If it were spelled with one 'o', it would be pronounced with a short 'o' sound.