Die elektriese boor gebruik die boorpunt.

Because elektries changes form when it comes directly before a noun. In this sentence, it is an attributive adjective, so you get elektriese boor.

Compare:

• Die boor is elektries.
• Die elektriese boor gebruik die boorpunt.

So elektries is the basic form, and elektriese is the form used before boor.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for both singular and plural nouns, and for all genders. So die can mean the before both boor and boorpunt.

That means:

• die boor = the drill
• die boorpunt = the drill bit / drill point

There is no gender change like in some other languages.

Here, boor is a noun, meaning drill. You can tell because it comes after die elektriese, which is a noun phrase.

But boor can also be a verb in Afrikaans, meaning to drill. So it is one of those words whose role depends on the sentence.

In this sentence:

• die elektriese boor = noun phrase
• gebruik = verb

Because Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word. Boorpunt is made up of:

• boor = drill
• punt = point / tip

So boorpunt literally means something like drill-point, and in normal English that would usually be drill bit or drill tip.

This one-word spelling is very common in Afrikaans.

No. Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for person or number in the present tense. So the verb stays gebruik with different subjects:

• Ek gebruik
• Jy gebruik
• Hy gebruik
• Die boor gebruik

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not add an -s here.

It can mean either, depending on context. The simple present in Afrikaans often covers both the English simple present and present continuous.

So gebruik can be understood as:

• uses
• is using

If someone wants to be extra explicit about an ongoing action, Afrikaans can use other structures, but in a normal sentence like this, gebruik is perfectly standard.

The word order is very straightforward for a main clause:

• Die elektriese boor = subject
• gebruik = verb
• die boorpunt = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Object

This is also consistent with the Afrikaans rule that the finite verb normally comes in the second position in a main clause. Here, the whole subject phrase Die elektriese boor takes the first position, and gebruik comes second.

Not in the way German does, and much less than older Dutch did. In this sentence, you do not have to worry about masculine, feminine, or neuter forms changing the article.

That is why both nouns simply use die.

Also, the nouns here do not change form because of case. So for an English speaker, the structure is relatively simple.

With the indefinite article, you would use 'n:

• 'n elektriese boor gebruik 'n boorpunt.

In the plural, you could say:

• Die elektriese bore gebruik die boorpunte.

A useful thing to notice is that in compounds, the plural ending is usually added to the last part:

• boorpunt → boorpunte

And the plural of boor is bore.