Breakdown of De patiënt lijdt aan een zeldzame ziekte.
de specialist
the specialist
lijden aan
to suffer from
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about De patiënt lijdt aan een zeldzame ziekte.
Why do we use aan instead of onder for 'suffering from' in this sentence?
In Dutch, the verb lijden (to suffer) takes different prepositions depending on the context. You use lijden aan when someone suffers from a medical condition, physical illness, or disease (like een zeldzame ziekte). You use lijden onder when someone suffers from external circumstances, such as stress, loud noise, or a heavy workload.
Why is zeldzaam spelled with only one 'a' when it becomes zeldzame?
This is due to Dutch spelling rules for open and closed syllables. Because ziekte is a de-word, the adjective gets an -e ending. This shifts the 'm' to the final syllable (zeld-za-me). Since the 'a' is now at the end of an open syllable, it automatically makes a long vowel sound. Keeping the double 'a' would be incorrect because it is redundant.
What is the purpose of the two dots (trema) on the 'e' in patiënt?
The trema prevents the letters i and e from being read together as a single vowel sound. In Dutch, ie normally makes an English 'ee' sound (as you can see right next to it in the word ziekte). By placing a trema on the ë, it forces a syllable break, telling you to pronounce the vowels separately as pa-ti-ënt.