Die bonus en kommissie is op die betaalstaat.

The bonus and commission are on the payroll.

Breakdown of Die bonus en kommissie is op die betaalstaat.

• wees: to be
• en: and
• op: on
• die bonus: bonus

Questions & Answers about Die bonus en kommissie is op die betaalstaat.

Why does the sentence use is even though bonus en kommissie refers to two things?

Because Afrikaans does not change the present-tense form of wees (to be) the way English does.

In English, you say:

• the bonus and commission are

But in Afrikaans, you use is with:

• ek is = I am
• jy is = you are
• hy/sy/dit is = he/she/it is
• ons is = we are
• julle is = you are
• hulle is = they are

So Die bonus en kommissie is ... is completely normal Afrikaans.

What does die mean here?

Die means the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike languages that have different words for masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural, Afrikaans just uses die.

In this sentence:

• die bonus = the bonus
• die betaalstaat = the payroll / pay statement / payslip depending on context

Why is there no second die before kommissie?