Sy praat Afrikaans.

she

Breakdown of Sy praat Afrikaans.

• praat: to speak
• Afrikaans: Afrikaans

Questions & Answers about Sy praat Afrikaans.

Why do we use Sy to mean "she" in Afrikaans?

In Afrikaans, Sy is the feminine third-person pronoun. It corresponds to "she" or "her" in English. Meanwhile, Hy is the masculine form ("he"), and Hulle is used for "they."

Is there any verb conjugation needed for praat when using different pronouns, like "I speak," "you speak," or "they speak"?

No. In Afrikaans, praat remains the same regardless of the subject pronoun. For example:
– Ek praat (I speak)
– Jy praat (You speak)
– Ons praat (We speak)
– Hulle praat (They speak)

Can Sy praat Afrikaans also mean "She is speaking Afrikaans" right now?

Yes. Afrikaans generally uses the simple present form to convey both habitual actions ("She speaks Afrikaans") and current actions ("She is speaking Afrikaans"). Context usually makes the meaning clear.

Why is Afrikaans capitalized here?

In Afrikaans, just like in English, the names of languages (e.g., Afrikaans, Engels for English, Frans for French) are capitalized.

Could we also say something like Sy praat dit instead of Sy praat Afrikaans?

Not usually. It's much more natural to name the language directly rather than using dit ("it"). In Afrikaans, you'd typically specify which language is being spoken, so Sy praat Afrikaans is the standard form.