By a happy accident I became aware that all you need say for ‘put’ is ‘doe’; but alas! it will only help you for a few of the simplest ‘puts’.
Two functionaries called about orphans one day, and I said “Put me down for five guilders”. “Doe mij beneden voor vijf gulden”. It wasn’t idiomatic, but they caught the idea when they saw the coins.
THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT.
Of course the long and the short a are notorious, and they perplexed me nearly every time I worked with them. You can’t be always sure that you have hit the right one.
An important letter had to go off one evening, and I impressed on the domestic that she must be careful.
‘Voorzichtig hoor!—voorzichtig!’ I repeated, ‘want dit is een gewichtige zak’.
I might have spared myself the trouble, for she tossed it in one hand and said, “Een zak, mijnheer, ha!” and departed with a gaiety of manner that augured ill for the safety of my missive. All the while I imagined I had said zaak,—but my a was too short.
THE BEAUTIFUL MAN.
One night when the landlady’s son—a promising youth of thirteen—brought up the supper, he appeared playful and excited. He urged me, as I understood it, to come downstairs and admire a man that was in the street. Surely it must be a fine specimen of manly grace that could elicit this interest! Yes, the man there was ‘erg mooi’, he assured me.