Die tegnikus diagnoseer die probleem.

the problem

Breakdown of Die tegnikus diagnoseer die probleem.

• die tegnikus: the technician
• diagnoseer: to diagnose

Questions & Answers about Die tegnikus diagnoseer die probleem.

What does die mean, and why is it used twice?

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, equivalent to English the.

It appears twice because there are two definite nouns in the sentence:

• die tegnikus = the technician
• die probleem = the problem

Afrikaans normally repeats the article before each definite noun phrase, just as English does. Also, die is used for all genders and for plural definite nouns too.

Is die pronounced like the English word die?

No. In Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced like dee.

So in this sentence, you should not say it like the English verb die. That is a very common beginner mistake.

Does tegnikus have grammatical gender? Is it masculine because it means technician?

No. Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way languages like German or Dutch do.

That means:

• tegnikus is not grammatically masculine or feminine
• the article stays die
• adjectives and verbs do not change because of noun gender

If you specifically want to show that the technician is female or male, you usually do that through context or extra wording, not through noun gender.