Die gewigsverskuiwing is klein.

small

Breakdown of Die gewigsverskuiwing is klein.

• wees: to be
• die gewigsverskuiwing: weight shift

Questions & Answers about Die gewigsverskuiwing is klein.

What does die mean here, and is it always the?

Yes. In this sentence, die means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

So:

• die gewigsverskuiwing = the weight shift
• die huise = the houses

Afrikaans does not have different forms like English the vs gendered articles in some other languages.

Why is gewigsverskuiwing one long word?

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

So gewigsverskuiwing is a compound:

• gewig = weight
• verskuiwing = shift / shifting

Together:

• gewigsverskuiwing = weight shift

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes these ideas as two words, but Afrikaans frequently joins them.

Why is there an -s- in gewigsverskuiwing?