Breakdown of Jy het nie 'n negatief antwoord nie.
jy
you
hê
to have
'n
a
nie
not
negatief
negative
die antwoord
the answer
Questions & Answers about Jy het nie 'n negatief antwoord nie.
Why are there two nies in the sentence?
Afrikaans makes frequent use of a so-called double negative. When making a sentence negative, you need nie after the verb (for example, after het) and then another nie at the end of the sentence. So Jy het nie … nie follows standard negative grammar in Afrikaans.
Should negatief be negatiewe instead?
Yes, that’s often more standard in Afrikaans. The adjective form would typically be negatiewe to describe a negative answer. You might see negatief used in different contexts (like a noun), but in most cases when describing antwoord, you’d say ’n negatiewe antwoord.
What does ’n mean, and why is there an apostrophe?
In Afrikaans, ’n is the shortened form of the indefinite article (like “a” in English). The apostrophe is part of the spelling and helps indicate that the ‘n is typically not stressed when spoken.
Is the word order correct in: Jy het nie ’n negatief antwoord nie?
It’s acceptable, but you might notice more common variations such as Jy het nie ’n negatiewe antwoord nie or Jy het nie ’n negatiewe antwoord gekry nie, depending on the exact meaning (e.g., having, receiving, or giving a negative answer). Afrikaans is somewhat flexible with word order, but it’s important to keep both nie words in the right positions for the double negative.
Why does Afrikaans use double negatives, whereas English uses just one?
It’s largely a historical development. Older forms of Dutch (from which Afrikaans evolved) also used double negatives, and Afrikaans preserved it. It’s considered standard and is one of the hallmarks that distinguish Afrikaans grammar from modern Dutch and English.
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