Hy verdien die prys.

Yes. In this sentence, die is the Afrikaans definite article, so it means the.

A very useful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans does not change the word for the based on gender. So:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kind = the child
• die pryse = the prizes

So in Hy verdien die prys, die prys means the prize.

Also, die in Afrikaans is not pronounced like the English verb die.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject the way English verbs do.

In English:

• I earn
• he earns

In Afrikaans:

• Ek verdien
• Hy verdien

The verb stays the same. This is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar.

So:

• Ek verdien die prys
• Jy verdien die prys
• Hy verdien die prys
• Ons verdien die prys

All use verdien.

Yes, in this basic main clause it is very similar to English:

• Hy = subject
• verdien = verb
• die prys = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Object

That makes this sentence very straightforward for an English speaker.

However, Afrikaans does have the verb-second rule in main clauses. That means the finite verb must stay in the second position if something else comes first. For example:

• Hy verdien die prys.
• Vandag verdien hy die prys.

So the simple sentence looks very English-like, but other sentences may shift the subject after the verb.

Verdien can often mean earn, and in some contexts it can also be understood as deserve.

Examples:

• Hy verdien geld. = He earns money.
• Hy verdien die prys. = depending on context, this may be understood as He earns the prize or He deserves the prize.

The exact meaning depends on the context you were given. Since you already have the meaning shown, that context settles it.

So the important grammar point is that verdien is the verb, and it works much more simply than English verbs do.

Not always. Prys can be tricky because it can have more than one meaning depending on context.

It can mean:

• price
• prize

There is also a related verb prys meaning praise, but that is a different grammatical use.

So learners often need context to know which meaning is intended.

In Hy verdien die prys, if the meaning shown to you is about a reward or award, then die prys means the prize.

Afrikaans die is usually pronounced roughly like dee.

So it is not like the English word die.

That is a very common beginner mistake.

So:

• die ≈ dee

This makes die prys sound roughly like dee price/price-like, depending on accent.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Hy ≈ hay or a bit like hei
• verdien ≈ fur-DEEN
• die ≈ dee
• prys ≈ price

So the whole sentence is roughly:

hay fur-DEEN dee price

That said, exact pronunciation will vary by speaker and accent, and the r and vowels may sound different from English.

It is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.

Afrikaans does not capitalize pronouns like hy just because they are pronouns. So:

• Hy verdien die prys.
• Ek sien hom, en hy glimlag.

In the second example, hy is lowercase because it is not at the beginning of the sentence.

Afrikaans does have an indefinite article: ’n, which means a/an.

So:

• ’n prys = a prize
• die prys = the prize

In your sentence, die is used because it refers to a specific prize:

• Hy verdien die prys. = He deserves/earns the prize.

If you said:

• Hy verdien ’n prys.

that would mean He deserves/earns a prize, which is less specific.

No. Afrikaans usually uses a double negative structure.

So the correct negative is:

Hy verdien nie die prys nie.

Pattern:

• nie after the verb
• another nie at the end of the clause

So:

• Hy verdien die prys. = He deserves/earns the prize.
• Hy verdien nie die prys nie. = He does not deserve/earn the prize.

This double nie ... nie pattern is very important in Afrikaans.

Usually yes. Hy is the normal subject pronoun for he.

Examples:

• Hy kom vandag. = He is coming today.
• Hy verdien die prys. = He deserves/earns the prize.

Related pronouns:

• ek = I
• jy = you
• sy = she / her in some contexts depending on role
• ons = we
• hulle = they

So in this sentence, hy is simply the subject: he.