Die espressomasjien het 'n watertenk.

to have

Breakdown of Die espressomasjien het 'n watertenk.

• 'n: a
• die espressomasjien: espresso machine
• die watertenk: water tank

Questions & Answers about Die espressomasjien het 'n watertenk.

Why does the sentence start with Die?

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So Die espressomasjien = the espresso machine.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender the way languages like German do. So die is used for the regardless of whether a noun would be masculine, feminine, or neuter in other languages.

What does het mean here?

Here, het means has.

It comes from the verb hê = to have.

So:

• Die espressomasjien het ... = The espresso machine has ...

A helpful point for English speakers: in the present tense, Afrikaans verbs usually do not change depending on the subject. So you get:

• ek het = I have
• jy het = you have
• hy/sy/dit het = he/she/it has
• ons het = we have

Unlike English, there is no special has form.

Why is there 'n before watertenk?