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Lees die hittewaarskuwing en UV-indeks.

Lees die hittewaarskuwing en UV-indeks.
Read the heat warning and UV index.
From Lesson 62:Preparing the home for a heatwave·Hardcore Afrikaans

Breakdown of Lees die hittewaarskuwing en UV-indeks.

lees
to read
en
and
die hittewaarskuwing
heat warning
die UV-indeks
UV index

Questions & Answers about Lees die hittewaarskuwing en UV-indeks.

Is Lees a command here?
Yes. Lees is being used as an imperative, so the sentence is giving an instruction: Read the heat warning and UV index.
Why does the sentence begin with the verb?
That is normal for commands in Afrikaans. In an imperative sentence, the verb usually comes first, just like in English commands such as Read this or Look here.
Why is there no word for you in the sentence?
In Afrikaans, as in English, commands usually leave out the subject. The you is understood. So Lees ... means You, read ... without actually saying you.
Is lees also the normal verb form for to read?

Yes. Afrikaans verbs do not change much for different subjects. You get:

  • ek lees = I read / am reading
  • jy lees = you read / are reading
  • hulle lees = they read / are reading

So the imperative Lees! looks the same as the ordinary verb form.

What does die mean here?

Die means the. It is the Afrikaans definite article.

A useful point for English speakers: die does not change for gender, and the same form is used for both singular and plural nouns.

Why is there only one die before two nouns?

In Afrikaans, one die can cover both nouns when they are joined by en. So die hittewaarskuwing en UV-indeks means the heat warning and UV index.

You could also say die hittewaarskuwing en die UV-indeks, but repeating die is not necessary here.

Why is hittewaarskuwing written as one word?

Because Afrikaans usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

  • hitte = heat
  • waarskuwing = warning
  • hittewaarskuwing = heat warning

This is very common in Afrikaans and happens more often than in English.

Is waarskuwing related to a verb?

Yes. Waarskuwing is related to the verb waarsku, which means to warn. So waarskuwing is warning.

This is a useful pattern to notice, because many Afrikaans nouns are built from verbs.

Why is UV-indeks written with a hyphen?
Afrikaans often uses a hyphen when an abbreviation or initialism is joined to another word. That is why you get UV-indeks rather than writing it as one solid word.
What does en mean?
En means and. It simply links hittewaarskuwing and UV-indeks together.
How is the sentence roughly pronounced?

A rough English-friendly guide is:

Lees die hittewaarskuwing en UV-indeks
≈ Lays dee HIH-tuh-VAHR-sku-wing en uu-fay-IN-deks

That is only approximate, but it can help you get started. The main thing to notice is that w in Afrikaans often sounds more like an English v than an English w.

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