Daar is nog 'n moontlikheid.

Daar is is a very common Afrikaans pattern for saying that something exists, like English there is or there are.

So in this sentence, Daar is introduces the existence of something, not a location.

Examples:

• Daar is 'n probleem. = There is a problem.
• Daar is twee opsies. = There are two options.

Not really. In this sentence, daar is part of the fixed existential pattern Daar is.

Sometimes daar really does mean a place:

• Hy staan daar. = He is standing there.

But in Daar is nog 'n moontlikheid, it does not mainly point to a location. It is more like the there in English There is another possibility.

Here nog means another, one more, or an additional.

So nog 'n moontlikheid means another possibility or one more possibility.

Be careful: nog can mean different things in different contexts, such as:

• still
• yet
• more
• another

Examples:

• Ek wag nog. = I am still waiting.
• Wil jy nog koffie hê? = Do you want more coffee?
• Daar is nog 'n kans. = There is another chance.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.

A few useful things about 'n:

• It is always written with an apostrophe.
• It is normally unstressed in speech.
• It is pronounced like a weak uh sound, similar to the first sound in about.

So:

• 'n moontlikheid = a possibility

A famous spelling rule is that 'n itself is not capitalized, even at the start of a sentence:

• 'n Mens leer elke dag.

Is is the present-tense form of wees, which means to be.

A useful point for English speakers: in the present tense, Afrikaans uses is for all persons and numbers:

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

So Afrikaans does not switch between am / is / are the way English does.

Yes. Moontlikheid is built from moontlik, which means possible.

The ending -heid often turns an adjective into a noun, a bit like English -ness.

So:

• moontlik = possible
• moontlikheid = possibility

Other similar patterns:

• waar = true
• waarheid = truth

This is a useful word-building pattern in Afrikaans.

This is normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• first element: Daar
• finite verb in second position: is
• the rest of the sentence: nog 'n moontlikheid

So the structure is:

Daar + is + nog 'n moontlikheid

Also notice that nog comes before the noun phrase it modifies:

• nog 'n moontlikheid
• nog twee idees
• nog baie tyd

You would normally say:

Daar is nie nog 'n moontlikheid nie.

Afrikaans usually uses a double nie in negative sentences:

• one nie after the verb
• one nie near the end of the clause

Compare:

• Daar is nog 'n moontlikheid.
• Daar is nie nog 'n moontlikheid nie.

Be careful with position, because moving nog can change the meaning:

• Daar is nie nog 'n moontlikheid nie. = There is not another possibility.
• Daar is nog nie 'n moontlikheid nie. = There is not yet a possibility.

It is usually pronounced as a very weak vowel, like uh.

So nog 'n moontlikheid is not said with a strong n sound. The article is very light and unstressed.

For many learners, the hardest pronunciation point in the whole sentence is actually nog, because the g is the typical guttural Afrikaans sound. The 'n is much softer and shorter.