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Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Die kinders beskerm hulself. - The children protect themselves.

Hardcore Afrikaans
/Fixing a bicycle with a friend
/Die kinders beskerm hulself.

Die kinders beskerm hulself.

Word

Die kinders beskerm hulself.

Meaning

The children protect themselves.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Afrikaans

Lesson

Fixing a bicycle with a friend

Breakdown of Die kinders beskerm hulself.

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Questions & Answers about Die kinders beskerm hulself.

Why is die used here? Isn’t that singular?

No. In Afrikaans, die is used for both singular and plural definite nouns.

So:

die kind = the child
die kinders = the children

Unlike some languages, Afrikaans does not have separate words for singular the and plural the.

How is kinders formed?

The singular noun is kind. Its plural is kinders.

So:

kind = child
kinders = children

This is just the normal plural form you need to learn with this noun. English speakers often notice that Afrikaans does not use a completely different word like English child / children.

Why doesn’t beskerm change to match kinders?

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for person or number in the present tense.

So you get:

Ek beskerm
Jy beskerm
Die kind beskerm
Die kinders beskerm

This is simpler than English, where you have protect but protects.

Why is there no separate word for are, as in are protecting?

Afrikaans often does not use a separate helper verb in sentences like this. A simple present-tense verb can cover both:

The children protect themselves
The children are protecting themselves

So Die kinders beskerm hulself can mean either one, depending on context.

Does this sentence mean a general fact or an action happening right now?

It can mean either, depending on context.

It may mean:

a general/habitual action: The children protect themselves
an action happening now: The children are protecting themselves

Afrikaans often leaves that distinction to the situation or surrounding words.

What exactly does hulself mean?

Hulself is a reflexive pronoun meaning themselves.

A reflexive pronoun shows that the action goes back to the subject. So the children are protecting their own selves, not someone else.

That is why hulself is important here.

Why can’t I just say hulle instead of hulself?

Because hulself specifically gives the reflexive meaning themselves.

Compare:

Die kinders beskerm hulle.
This usually means The children protect them — some other people.
Die kinders beskerm hulself.
This means The children protect themselves.

So hulself removes the ambiguity.

Why is hulself written as one word?

Because that is the standard Afrikaans spelling of this reflexive pronoun.

You should learn hulself as a fixed form meaning themselves. It functions as one unit in the sentence, not as two separate words.

Is the word order anything special here?

No. This is the normal Afrikaans main-clause order:

Die kinders = subject
beskerm = verb
hulself = object/reflexive pronoun

So the pattern is simply:

subject + verb + object

That is very similar to English.

How would I say the same thing with just one child?

You would use the singular noun kind and a singular reflexive pronoun:

Die kind beskerm homself. = The child protects himself.
Die kind beskerm haarself. = The child protects herself.

Notice that beskerm stays the same. Only the noun and reflexive pronoun change.

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