Breakdown of Ik ruik een fruitig aroma in dit glaasje.
ik
I
een
a/an
in
in
dit
this (neuter)
het glas
the glass
ruiken
to smell
het aroma
the aroma
fruitig
fruity
Questions & Answers about Ik ruik een fruitig aroma in dit glaasje.
Why does glas change to glaasje with a double 'a'?
This is a great example of a short-to-long vowel shift in irregular diminutives. Normally, you just add a suffix like -je to the noun. However, a few base words with a short vowel lengthen their vowel sound in the diminutive form. Because the 'a' in glas becomes a long 'a' sound, Dutch spelling rules require it to be written as aa to keep the vowel long in a closed syllable (glaas-je).
Why is there no '-e' added to the adjective fruitig?
Because aroma is a neuter noun (het aroma). When an adjective comes before a neuter singular noun introduced by the indefinite article een, it does not get the typical -e ending. If you used the definite article instead, it would become het fruitige aroma.
Why do we use dit instead of deze for 'this small glass'?
All diminutives in Dutch are neuter (het) words. While the base word glas already happens to be neuter (het glas), this rule guarantees that any diminutive, like glaasje, will always take the neuter demonstrative dit (this) instead of deze.
Does the verb ruiken mean 'to give off a smell' or 'to perceive a smell'?
It can mean both, exactly like the English verb 'to smell'. In this sentence, it refers to perceiving a smell ('I smell a fruity aroma'), but you can also use it to describe emitting an odor, such as het glaasje ruikt fruitig (the glass smells fruity).
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