Die padwaardigheidsertifikaat is beskikbaar.

to be

Breakdown of Die padwaardigheidsertifikaat is beskikbaar.

• beskikbaar: available
• die padwaardigheidsertifikaat: roadworthiness certificate

Questions & Answers about Die padwaardigheidsertifikaat is beskikbaar.

Why does die mean the here, and does Afrikaans have different forms for the?

Yes. Die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans and usually means the.

A useful difference from English is that Afrikaans does not change the for gender:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die huis = the house

It is also used for plural nouns:

• die motors = the cars

So in Die padwaardigheidsertifikaat, die simply means the.

Why is padwaardigheidsertifikaat written as one long word?

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

So:

• pad = road
• waardigheid = worthiness / fitness
• sertifikaat = certificate

Together, padwaardigheidsertifikaat means something like roadworthiness certificate.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar ideas as:

• one word
• hyphenated
• or separate words

Afrikaans more often prefers a single compound word.