Breakdown of Die paspoort word by die lughawe sorgvuldig nagegaan.
wees
to be
by
at
die lughawe
the airport
die paspoort
the passport
sorgvuldig
carefully
nagaan
to check
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Questions & Answers about Die paspoort word by die lughawe sorgvuldig nagegaan.
Why does the sentence use word instead of an Afrikaans form of is to show the passive?
Afrikaans forms the passive with the auxiliary word (meaning “become”/“be”) plus a past participle. Here word + nagegaan gives the present passive (“is checked”). Using is nagegaan would read as a perfect passive (“has been checked”), not a simple present passive.
Why is nagegaan written as one word rather than two (e.g. na gaan)?
Nagegaan is the past participle of the separable verb nagaan (“to check”). When you form the participle, you place “ge-” between the verb stem and its root, and it all fuses into a single word: na + ge + gaan = nagegaan.
Why does sorgvuldig (carefully) come after by die lughawe instead of before?
Afrikaans places adverbs in the “middle field” (between the verb cluster and other complements). Here the verb cluster is word … nagegaan, and the location phrase (by die lughawe) can come first. The adverb sorgvuldig then slots in before the participle:
word (auxiliary) → by die lughawe (location) → zorgvuldig (manner) → nagegaan (participle).
Why is the preposition by used with die lughawe instead of in or op?
In Afrikaans by generally means “at” a place (“by die winkel” = at the shop).
In die lughawe would mean “inside the airport building,” while op die lughawe is uncommon. By die lughawe covers the idea of processing or checking at the airport facility.
The sentence doesn’t mention who does the checking. Why is that?
In a passive construction the agent (the one doing the action) is optional. If it’s unimportant or obvious from context, Afrikaans simply omits the deur-phrase (“by …”).
Why does the sentence start with Die paspoort instead of putting the verb first, as in some Afrikaans sentences?
Afrikaans typically follows a verb-second (V2) word order in main clauses: one element (subject, adverb, object, etc.) comes first, then the finite verb. Here the subject Die paspoort occupies initial position, so the auxiliary word comes second.
Can I translate Die paspoort word by die lughawe sorgvuldig nagegaan directly as “The passport is at the airport carefully checked”?
Literally yes, but idiomatically in English we’d say “The passport is carefully checked at the airport.” Afrikaans lets you reorder “by die lughawe” and “sorgvuldig” without changing meaning, but English prefers “carefully” before “checked” and “at the airport” at the end.