Die wyn is duur.

to be

Breakdown of Die wyn is duur.

• duur: expensive
• die wyn: the wine

Questions & Answers about Die wyn is duur.

What does die mean here? Is it related to the English word die?

Here, die means the.

It is not related to the English verb die. In Afrikaans, die is the normal definite article:

• die wyn = the wine
• die man = the man
• die kinders = the children

A useful thing to remember: Afrikaans uses die for all genders and for both singular and plural nouns.

Why is the sentence order so similar to English?

Because this is a very straightforward Afrikaans main clause:

• Die wyn = subject
• is = verb
• duur = adjective/complement

So Die wyn is duur follows the same basic pattern as The wine is expensive:

subject + verb + adjective

That makes this sentence very easy for English speakers.

Does is change with different subjects, like in English?