Die klanktoets begin vroeg.

early

Breakdown of Die klanktoets begin vroeg.

• begin: to start
• die klanktoets: sound check

Questions & Answers about Die klanktoets begin vroeg.

Why does the sentence start with die? Does Afrikaans have the and a like English?

Yes. die is the Afrikaans definite article, so it usually means the.

Afrikaans articles are simpler than English:

• die = the
• ’n = a / an

Unlike English, die does not change for gender or number:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kinders = the children

So in Die klanktoets begin vroeg, die klanktoets means the sound test / the audio test, depending on context.

Is klanktoets one word because it is a compound noun?

Yes. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word, just like Dutch and German often do.

So:

• klank = sound
• toets = test

Together:

• klanktoets = sound test / audio test

English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans commonly joins them into one. This is very normal in the language.

Why is it begin and not something like begins?