Hy eet 'n appel.

He eats an apple.

Breakdown of Hy eet 'n appel.

• eet: to eat
• hy: he
• die appel: the apple

Questions & Answers about Hy eet 'n appel.

Why is there an apostrophe before the n in 'n?

In Afrikaans, 'n (sometimes written simply as n) serves as the indefinite article and is similar to a or an in English. The little apostrophe in front of n indicates that part of the word een (meaning one) has been dropped over time. When you say 'n, it sounds a bit like the a in about.

How do I pronounce eet? Does it sound like the English eat?

Yes, eet in Afrikaans is pronounced much like the English word eat. The vowel is short and crisp, but you’ll still notice it sounds very similar. It’s not exactly the same as how some English speakers might draw out eat, but it’s quite close.

Does Hy only mean "he," or can it mean "it" as well?

In Afrikaans, Hy is usually used to mean he. If you need to say it, you would often still use hy (masculine object) or sy (feminine object) in certain contexts referring to, for example, animals or objects. However, in modern spoken Afrikaans, many speakers might choose other ways to refer to an inanimate object, like using dit for it. But, generally, Hy is the masculine pronoun for he.

Why does Hy eet 'n appel not need an extra word like is in the sentence?

Afrikaans typically doesn’t require a helper verb like is to form a simple present tense sentence. In English, you might say He is eating an apple, but in Afrikaans you can just say Hy eet 'n appel, and it covers both He eats an apple and He is eating an apple meanings in English.

Are there any spelling rules about the capital letter H in Hy?

At the start of a sentence, or when used as a pronoun referring to someone specifically, Hy begins with a capital H just like He in English. If it appears mid-sentence and isn’t used in a context that specifically calls for capitalization (like referring to a deity in religious texts), you might see it lowercased as hy, though Hy is common for the pronoun as well.