Die voedselstalletjie mag oopmaak, met dien verstande dat die handewasstasie werk.

to work

Breakdown of Die voedselstalletjie mag oopmaak, met dien verstande dat die handewasstasie werk.

• mag: to be allowed to
• oopmaak: to open
• met dien verstande dat ...: provided that; with the proviso that

Questions & Answers about Die voedselstalletjie mag oopmaak, met dien verstande dat die handewasstasie werk.

What does mag mean here, and why isn’t kan used?

Here mag means may or is allowed to. It expresses permission.

So:

• Die voedselstalletjie mag oopmaak = the food stall may open / is allowed to open

By contrast, kan usually means can in the sense of ability or possibility:

• Die voedselstalletjie kan oopmaak = the food stall can open / is able to open

In this sentence, the idea is not ability, but official permission, so mag is the natural choice.

Why is it oopmaak here instead of maak oop?

That is because oopmaak is being used with the modal verb mag.

In Afrikaans, when a modal such as mag, kan, moet, or wil is used, the other verb usually appears as an infinitive at the end, and separable verbs are normally written as one word there.

So:

• Die voedselstalletjie maak oop. = The food stall opens.
• Die voedselstalletjie mag oopmaak. = The food stall may open.

This is similar to how English uses may open.

What does mean?