Die sekuriteitshek is oop.

to be

Breakdown of Die sekuriteitshek is oop.

• oop: open
• die sekuriteitshek: security gate

Questions & Answers about Die sekuriteitshek is oop.

Why does the sentence start with die? Does it mean the?

Yes. Die is the Afrikaans definite article, and here it means the.

A useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die hek = the gate
• plural nouns: die hekke = the gates

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and unlike Dutch or German, there is no separate word like de/het or der/die/das. It is simply die.

Is sekuriteitshek one word? Why is it written like that?

Yes, it is normally written as one word. Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, often forms compound nouns by joining words together.

So:

• sekuriteit = security
• hek = gate
• sekuriteitshek = security gate

The -s- in the middle links the parts together. English usually writes this as two words, but Afrikaans often prefers one compound word.

What part of the sentence is is?