Questions & Answers about Ons huis het die grootste tuin.
What does ons mean and why is there no article before huis?
Ons is the first-person plural possessive pronoun, meaning our. In Afrikaans, a possessive pronoun replaces the need for an article when indicating ownership. That’s why you don’t use ’n (a/an) or die (the) before huis in this case.
What does het mean here and how is it related to the infinitive hê?
Het is the third-person singular present-tense form of hê (to have). It indicates possession—so Ons huis het literally means Our house has. The infinitive is spelled hê (with a circumflex over the e), but in the present tense you always use het.
How is the superlative grootste formed, and why is die used?
To form the superlative in Afrikaans, you add -ste to the adjective:
- groot → grootste
You then precede it with the definite article die, because superlatives are always definite.
Examples: - die grootste (the biggest)
- die slimste (the smartest)
What is the difference between groter and grootste?