Die tandkroon en vulsel is beskadig.

to be

Breakdown of Die tandkroon en vulsel is beskadig.

• en: and
• beskadig: damaged
• die vulsel: dental filling

Questions & Answers about Die tandkroon en vulsel is beskadig.

What does die mean here?

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

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender or number. So the same die is used for:

• the crown
• the crowns
• the filling
• the fillings

That is simpler than in some other languages.

Why is there only one die before tandkroon en vulsel?

In Afrikaans, one article can cover two nouns joined by en.

So Die tandkroon en vulsel means the crown and filling.

You can also say Die tandkroon en die vulsel. That version sounds a little more explicit, because it repeats the article for both items. Both are possible, but the version with one die is completely normal.

Why is tandkroon written as one word?

Afrikaans writes many compound nouns as one word.

So:

• tand = tooth
• kroon = crown
• tandkroon = tooth crown / dental crown

This is very common in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them into a single compound noun.