Die salsaklas begin vandag.

The salsa class begins today.

Breakdown of Die salsaklas begin vandag.

• vandag: today
• begin: to begin
• die salsaklas: salsa class

Questions & Answers about Die salsaklas begin vandag.

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

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

So:

• die salsaklas = the salsa class

A useful thing to know is that die is used for all genders and for both singular and plural definite nouns in many contexts. Afrikaans does not have different words like the for masculine/feminine/neuter nouns.

What is salsaklas? Is it one word on purpose?

Yes, it is one word on purpose. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• salsa
  • klas → salsaklas

This is very common in Afrikaans. Where English might write two words, Afrikaans often prefers a compound:

• school bus → skoolbus
• coffee cup → koffiekoppie or similar compound forms depending on meaning

So salsaklas literally means salsa class.

Is begin the verb here, and is it the same as English begin?