Time to learn Dutch! Hello italki community! After a very long wait, I'm finally read to start with my Dutch. My boyfriend and his family are helping me learn. It seems like I'm starting a little late, considering I've already moved to Belgium, but better late than never! Right now, my biggest problem is my pronunciation. I have a lot of trouble with my "r" sounds, especially. I learned Spanish in high school, and I roll my "r's" like a good Spanish student. But, the Dutch/Flemish "r" is just not the same. I can't make that sound to save my life! My boyfriend is being very patient with me though, and hopefully I'll start to understand. The toughest word I've learned so far is "to write" in the "they" form: schrijven. Yikes! I now know exactly what it feels like to be just beginning a new language, and I really hope that I can apply all that I'm learning about challenges and frustration to my teaching. I know it's tough, guys, but we can do it! ===================================================================== I promised a grammar tip with each of my entries, and this week is no exception. Since I am learning determiners in Dutch right now, I thought I'd give a tip about "a" vs. "an" vs. "the" this time. When do we use these determiners? "A"- we use "a" when we want to signal that there is one of something. Also, it's not the *only* one of that thing. And, to make things a little more confusing, we only use "a" if the thing we combine it with starts with a consonant or sometimes a "u". Here are some examples: 1) I wrote a book last year. 2) There's a bus that goes to that neighborhood. 3) Have you thought about going to a university? "An"- we use "an" in the same way we use "a." The only difference is that we use "an" for things that begin with vowels (a, e, i, o, or sometimes a "u"). Some more examples: 1) Do you have an apple I could eat? 2) You must think I'm an idiot! 3) I gave my friend an ultimatum: stop calling me names or we can't be friends! "The"- we use "the" when we want to signal that we are talking about one of something, and we know it is the *only* one of something (at least in our close area). Just a few more examples: 1) Do you know the way to the store? (we assume there is ONE right way, and only ONE appropriate store) 2) Have you ever seen the Eiffel Tower? 3) Turn the computer off! Cheers! Dani