Breakdown of De wijn in dit glaasje heeft een lange afdronk.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
in
in
dit
this (neuter)
lang
long
de wijn
the wine
het glas
the glass
de afdronk
the finish
Questions & Answers about De wijn in dit glaasje heeft een lange afdronk.
Why does glaasje have a double 'a' when the base word is glas?
This sentence highlights a short-to-long vowel shift in an irregular diminutive. The base word glas has a short 'a' sound. For a specific group of nouns, the short vowel in the singular noun lengthens when turned into a diminutive. Thus, the short 'a' in glas becomes the long 'aa' in glaasje. Other common examples are dag becoming daagje and gat (hole) becoming gaatje.
Why use dit for glaasje?
The strict rule here is that all diminutives in Dutch are het-words, regardless of the gender of their base word. Therefore, glaasje must take the het-word demonstrative pronoun dit (this). It just so happens that the base word glas is also a het-word (het glas), but the diminutive rule always dictates the pronoun.
Why does the adjective lang get an -e ending to become lange here?
Afdronk is a de-word (de afdronk). When you have an adjective in front of a de-word, it always takes an -e ending, even after the indefinite article een. You only drop the -e after een when modifying a singular het-word (for example, if you said een lang glas).
How is the word afdronk formed and used?
Afdronk translates to the "aftertaste" or "finish" of a drink, most commonly used in the context of wine or beer tasting. It is a compound noun made from af (off/down) and dronk (a drink or draught, related to the verb drinken).
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