Haar loopbaan begin vandag.

Her career begins today.

Breakdown of Haar loopbaan begin vandag.

• vandag: today
• haar: her
• begin: to begin
• die loopbaan: career

Questions & Answers about Haar loopbaan begin vandag.

What does haar mean here?

Here haar means her and shows possession: her career.

In this sentence, haar is a possessive determiner placed before the noun loopbaan. So:

• haar loopbaan = her career

A learner may notice that haar can look confusing because Afrikaans words can have more than one use in different contexts, but here the position before a noun makes its function clear.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• Her career begins today
• Her career is beginning today

So begin by itself can cover both ideas, depending on context. You do not need a separate word like is here.

Why is the verb just begin? Shouldn't it change like begins in English?

No. In Afrikaans, verbs generally do not change for the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek begin = I begin
• jy begin = you begin
• hy begin = he begins
• haar loopbaan begin = her career begins

Unlike English, there is no special -s ending for he/she/it.

Why is there no article before loopbaan?