Die tandvleis is gesond.

to be

Breakdown of Die tandvleis is gesond.

• gesond: healthy
• die tandvleis: gums

Questions & Answers about Die tandvleis is gesond.

What does die mean in this sentence?

Here die means the.

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article used with:

• singular nouns: die tandvleis = the gum / the gums
• plural nouns: die tande = the teeth

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not use different forms like the for singular vs. plural. It is just die.

Also, in this sentence die is pronounced roughly like dee, not like the English word die.

Why is it is and not are?

Because tandvleis is treated as a singular noun in Afrikaans.

Even though English often says the gums in the plural, Afrikaans commonly uses tandvleis as a mass noun, more like gum tissue. So:

• Die tandvleis is gesond. = The gums are healthy.

So the verb agrees with the Afrikaans noun, not with the English translation.

Is tandvleis singular or plural?

It is usually singular.

Tandvleis refers to gum tissue in general, so Afrikaans often treats it as one substance or one body part area rather than several separate gums.

Literally, tandvleis is made up of:

• tand = tooth
• vleis = meat/flesh

So the word originally means something like tooth-flesh.