Breakdown of Die basiese salaris bevat nie die bonus nie.
nie
not
bevat
to contain
die basiese salaris
basic salary
die bonus
bonus
Questions & Answers about Die basiese salaris bevat nie die bonus nie.
Why are there two nies in this sentence?
Afrikaans usually forms standard negation with double nie:
- ... nie ... nie
So in Die basiese salaris bevat nie die bonus nie, the first nie comes after the verb phrase, and the second nie comes near the end of the clause.
A helpful way to think about it is:
- bevat nie = does not include
- final nie = closes the negative sentence
This is one of the most important sentence patterns in Afrikaans.
Where exactly do the two nies go?
In a simple sentence like this, the pattern is:
- subject + verb + nie
- object + final nie
So:
- Die basiese salaris = subject
- bevat = verb
- nie = first negative marker
- die bonus = object
- nie = final negative marker
That gives:
- Die basiese salaris bevat nie die bonus nie.
English speakers often want to place just one negative word, but Afrikaans normally needs both.
Why is it die basiese salaris and die bonus? Does die mean the?