Bederfbare voorafverpakte voedsel moet 'n datummerk hê.

Perishable prepacked food must have a date marking.

Breakdown of Bederfbare voorafverpakte voedsel moet 'n datummerk hê.

• hê: to have
• 'n: a
• moet: must
• bederfbaar: perishable

Questions & Answers about Bederfbare voorafverpakte voedsel moet 'n datummerk hê.

How is this sentence put together grammatically?

It has three main parts:

• Bederfbare voorafverpakte voedsel = the subject noun phrase
• moet = the modal verb, meaning must
• 'n datummerk hê = the rest of the verb phrase, meaning have a date mark/date label

So the structure is basically:

[subject] + [modal verb] + [object + main verb]

A very literal breakdown is:

• bederfbare = perishable
• voorafverpakte = prepacked / prepackaged
• voedsel = food
• moet = must
• 'n datummerk = a date marking / date label
• hê = have

Why do bederfbare and voorafverpakte both end in -e?

Because they are adjectives placed before the noun voedsel.

In Afrikaans, adjectives used directly before a noun often take an extra -e ending. That is why you get:

• bederfbaar → bederfbare voedsel
• voorafverpak → voorafverpakte voedsel

Compare that with adjectives used after a verb, where the plain form is more common:

• Die voedsel is bederfbaar.
• Die voedsel is voorafverpak.

So the -e here is a normal attributive adjective ending.