vowel pronunciation when word form changes

Hallo, Nathalie: I am re-reading chapter 0.0, alphabet and pronunciation, and I have a question about short and long vowels. The guidelines explain that usually a vowel followed by one consonant is long and by two consonants is short. My question is what happens when two words (or syllables) are joined, or the verb form changes so that now the vowel is followed by two consonants instead of one. For example, the verb [color=blue:1qncmzqt]"holen": [/color:1qncmzqt]is the "o" long in ich[color=darkblue:1qncmzqt] hole[/color:1qncmzqt], but short in ich [color=darkblue:1qncmzqt]holte[/color:1qncmzqt] (I assume this is the imperfect.)? Also when one sticks "[color=darkblue:1qncmzqt]vor"[/color:1qncmzqt] in front of a word, like "[color=darkblue:1qncmzqt]Vor[/color:1qncmzqt]mittag" is the "[color=darkblue:1qncmzqt]vor"[/color:1qncmzqt] now pronounced with a short "o"? Many thanks for your help. Regards, Caroline

Hi Caroline, "holen" and "holte" (Imperfect) both have a long vowel ("o") sound. The pronunciation also doesn't change for "vor" and "Vormittag" because the word is really two words joined together. The rule that a vowel followed by one consonant is long and by two consonants is short does not always apply (as with so many grammar rules). If you have a chance to listen to a German radio station I would recommend to do that as much as you can to get a feel for the sounds and melodie of the sentences. Let me know fi there are more words you are unsure about. :D

Thank you. I appreciate your help! Regards, Caroline

http://www.listenlive.eu/germany.html This always works well listening to German radio......

Thank you - that's a great link; so much variety! Regards, Caroline