Breakdown of Die wind maak die kamer koel.
die
the
die kamer
the room
koel
cool
maak
to make
die wind
the wind
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Questions & Answers about Die wind maak die kamer koel.
Why does die appear twice in the sentence?
In Afrikaans each definite noun phrase needs its own die. You say die wind (the wind) and die kamer (the room). You cannot reuse one article for two different nouns.
Is maak the equivalent of the English verb “make”?
Yes. maak means “to make” or “to cause.” Here it’s used in a causative sense: “The wind causes the room to become cool.”
Why doesn’t maak change to maaks for “the wind”?
Afrikaans verbs do not agree with the subject in person or number. You always use the same form (the infinitive) for all subjects. So it’s always maak, never maaks.
What part of speech is koel in this sentence?
Here koel is an adjective describing the resulting state of die kamer. After a causative verb like maak, the adjective tells you the new condition of the object.
Could I say Die wind koel die kamer af instead?
Yes. koel can function as a verb meaning “to cool (down).” With the separable particle af it becomes afkoel. So Die wind koel die kamer af literally “The wind cools the room down,” which has the same meaning.
How do you express “The wind makes the room cooler” (comparative)?
You add -er to the adjective: Die wind maak die kamer koeler. To say “even cooler,” you can add nog: Die wind maak die kamer nog koeler.
What if I want to say “A wind makes the room cool”? Which article should I use?
The indefinite article in Afrikaans is ’n (pronounced [ən]). At the start of a sentence it’s written ’n with an apostrophe. So you would say ’n wind maak die kamer koel.
Why is there no verb like “is” before koel (e.g., “makes the room is cool”)?
In causative constructions you simply use maak + adjective. You don’t insert is. If you want to say “The room is cool” by itself, you say Die kamer is koel.