Practicing the Letter aa

First, try to read a few sentences with the first form of , "aa."

Note that in the first sentence, the "aa" sound in, "what" and "starting" was not replaced, because, since they are not at the beginning of the words, they use the maatraa of , "aa." Also notice that "apples," while starting with an English, "a," does not start with the, "aa" sound.

Now, try some sentences with , "aa," the maatraa of , "aa."

We won't use , "aa," the maatraa of , "aa," very much in our example sentences that use English letters, because it is too easy to confuse it with the English letter, "T." Instead, let's start practicing with nothing but Devanagari letters. In the sentences below, English words have been transliterated using the Devanagari script.

First, try to remember which letters are indicated, and then decide which sounds they make. Put them together into a word, and see if you recognize which English word is being indicated. Don't forget how the vowel , "aa," and its maatraa, , "aa," work. And remember that these words in the Devanagari script are not letter-for-letter reproductions of English words; rather, their sounds should reflect the English words that are indicated.