Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Hy sê die stad is groter, maar sy dorpie is die vriendelikste. - He says the city is larger, but his village is the friendliest.

The accent ê marks a long “e” sound (/e:/) in Afrikaans. It often replaces historical double vowels or dropped letters. So sê is pronounced like English “say.”

Why is there no dat before die stad is groter?

When you report someone’s exact words (direct speech) or give a short quote, you can omit dat entirely.
Example as direct speech:
Hy sê die stad is groter.
If you want a fully embedded clause (indirect speech), you’d include dat and move the verb to the end:
Hy sê dat die stad groter is.

How is the comparative groter formed in Afrikaans?

Most one- or two-syllable adjectives simply take -er to form the comparative:
groot → groter (big → bigger)
If you’re comparing two items, you’ll often add as (than):
Hierdie stad is groter as daardie dorp.

How is the superlative vriendelikste formed, and do you always need die?

To form the superlative you add -ste to the adjective:
vriendelik → vriendelikste (friendly → friendliest)
You normally use the definite article die before the superlative, whether it’s attributive (die vriendelikste dorp) or predicate (sy dorpie is die vriendelikste).

What does the suffix -pie in dorpie do?

-pie is a diminutive ending that makes dorp (“town”) into dorpie (“little town” or “small village”). It adds a sense of smallness or affection. Many nouns get -ie, -jie, or -pie in the diminutive.

How can sy mean both “his” and “her”? How do you know which one it is here?

In Afrikaans sy is the possessive pronoun for both genders. Context tells you whose it is. Here the subject is hy (“he”), so sy dorpie means “his little town.”

How do I say “bigger than” when comparing two specific places?

Use the comparative adjective plus as (than):
groter as
Example:
Daardie dorp is groter as my dorpie.

How would the sentence look in fully indirect speech with dat?

You’d embed both clauses and push the verbs to the end of each subordinate clause:
Hy sê dat die stad groter is, maar dat sy dorpie die vriendelikste is.

Why doesn’t maar (“but”) change the verb position like some subordinating conjunctions?

maar is a coordinating conjunction (it links two main clauses), so each clause keeps the normal main-clause word order (V2), with the verb in second position.