Gebruik die waterpas in plaas daarvan om te raai.

to use

Breakdown of Gebruik die waterpas in plaas daarvan om te raai.

• raai: to guess
• in plaas daarvan om ... te ...: instead of doing; rather than doing
• die waterpas: spirit level

Questions & Answers about Gebruik die waterpas in plaas daarvan om te raai.

What kind of form is gebruik here? Is it a command?

Yes. Gebruik is an imperative here, so the sentence is giving an instruction:

Gebruik die waterpas ... = Use the spirit level ...

In Afrikaans, commands often use the plain verb form without an explicit subject.

• Jy gebruik die waterpas. = You use the spirit level.
• Gebruik die waterpas! = Use the spirit level!

So there is an understood you, but it is not said.

What does waterpas mean exactly?

Waterpas means spirit level or bubble level.

It is a normal Afrikaans noun, and in this sentence it refers to the tool you use to check whether something is level.

So:

• die waterpas = the spirit level

Do not read it as something like water pass in English; it is a single noun with its own meaning.

Why is it die waterpas? Does die mean the here?