Slegs indien die argitek die bouplan aanpas, lees ons dit.

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Breakdown of Slegs indien die argitek die bouplan aanpas, lees ons dit.

• lees: to read
• dit: it
• aanpas: to adjust or revise

Questions & Answers about Slegs indien die argitek die bouplan aanpas, lees ons dit.

What does slegs indien mean, and is it the same as only if?

Yes. Slegs indien means only if.

• slegs = only
• indien = if

So Slegs indien die argitek die bouplan aanpas... means Only if the architect changes/adapts the building plan...

This is a fairly formal way to say it. In less formal Afrikaans, learners will also often see net as or just as, depending on the sentence.

Why is aanpas at the end of the first clause?

Because indien introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

So:

• die argitek pas die bouplan aan = the architect adapts the building plan
  Here, in a main clause, the separable verb is split: pas ... aan.

But after indien:

• indien die argitek die bouplan aanpas
  The verb moves to the end and becomes one word: aanpas.

This is very common in Afrikaans and is one of the main word-order patterns learners need to get used to.

Is aanpas a separable verb?