Die werkpermit is nodig.

The work permit is necessary.

Breakdown of Die werkpermit is nodig.

• wees: to be
• nodig: necessary
• die werkpermit: work permit

Questions & Answers about Die werkpermit is nodig.

What does die mean here?

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so here it means the.

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

• singular nouns: die werkpermit = the work permit
• plural nouns: die werkpermitte = the work permits

Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the article for grammatical gender.

Why is werkpermit written as one word?

Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• werk = work
• permit = permit
• werkpermit = work permit

This is very common in Afrikaans. English often separates these words, but Afrikaans usually combines them.

Other examples:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• skooltas = school bag

Is is used the same way as English is?

Mostly yes. Is is the present-tense form of wees and works like English is in sentences like this.

A very helpful difference is that Afrikaans verbs usually do not change much for different subjects in the present tense.

For example:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Ons is = we are

So is stays the same.