Sy verkoop die produk.

In this sentence, sy means she because it is the subject of the sentence and is followed by the verb verkoop.

Afrikaans sy can also mean his, but then it usually appears before a noun:

• Sy verkoop die produk. = She sells the product.
• sy produk = his product

So the position in the sentence tells you which meaning it has.

Here, die means the.

So:

• die produk = the product

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for nouns.

No. In Afrikaans, die here is pronounced roughly like dee.

That often surprises English speakers, because the spelling looks familiar but the pronunciation is different.

No. Afrikaans does not use different definite articles for masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.

So die works for all of them:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kind = the child
• die produk = the product

That makes articles much simpler than in many other European languages.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for different subjects in the present tense.

Compare:

• Ek verkoop = I sell
• Jy verkoop = you sell
• Sy verkoop = she sells
• Ons verkoop = we sell

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not add an -s for he/she/it in sentences like this.

It is the present tense.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• She sells the product
  or
• She is selling the product

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or the present continuous.

This is the normal order for a simple main clause:

• subject + verb + object

So:

• Sy = subject
• verkoop = verb
• die produk = object

Afrikaans is also a verb-second language, which means the finite verb usually comes early in the clause. In this simple sentence, that gives you the straightforward order Sy verkoop die produk.

Then you would use 'n instead of die:

• Sy verkoop 'n produk. = She sells a product.

So the difference is:

• die produk = the product
• 'n produk = a product

A rough pronunciation guide is:

say fer-KOHP dee pro-DUK

A few helpful notes:

• sy sounds roughly like say
• verkoop has a v that often sounds close to f
• die sounds like dee
• produk is stressed on the second syllable

This is only an approximation, but it is a useful starting point.

You would say:

Sy verkoop nie die produk nie.

Afrikaans commonly uses a double nie pattern for negation:

• first nie after the verb
• second nie near the end of the clause

So:

• Sy verkoop die produk. = She sells the product.
• Sy verkoop nie die produk nie. = She does not sell the product.