Breakdown of Die kos word vars in die kombuis voorberei.
wees
to be
in
in
die kos
the food
voorberei
to prepare
vars
fresh
die kombuis
the kitchen
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Questions & Answers about Die kos word vars in die kombuis voorberei.
What function does word serve in this sentence?
word is the present‐tense auxiliary that marks the passive voice in Afrikaans (equivalent to “is/are being” in English). You combine word + past participle to form a passive construction.
How is the past participle formed here, and why isn’t it gevoorberei or voorbereid?
Verbs that carry prefixes (ver-, be-, ont-, her-, mis-, teen-, voor-, etc.) do not take the “ge-” prefix on the past participle in Afrikaans. Since voorberei already has the prefix voor-, its past participle is simply voorberei (no extra ge- and no change to “-d”).
Why does voorberei appear at the end of the sentence?
Afrikaans main clauses follow a V2 (verb‐second) order for the finite verb—here word is in second position—and any non-finite verb elements (like the past participle voorberei) move to the end of the clause.
Why is the adjective vars placed before the phrase in die kombuis?
In Afrikaans, manner expressions (adjectives/adverbs) typically come before place expressions. So “freshly” (vars) precedes “in the kitchen” (in die kombuis), following a manner–place–time sequence.
Why are there two occurrences of die in this sentence?
Afrikaans has a single definite article, die, for all genders and numbers. Each noun phrase needs its own article, so you use die for die kos (“the food”) and another die for in die kombuis (“in the kitchen”).
Can the order vars in die kombuis be swapped to in die kombuis vars?
Yes, you could say “Die kos word in die kombuis vars voorberei,” but placing the manner word (vars) before the place phrase (in die kombuis) is more common and sounds most natural.
How would you express the future or perfect passive of this idea?
Future passive:
• “Die kos sal vars in die kombuis voorberei word.”
Perfect passive:
• “Die kos is vars in die kombuis voorberei.”
In each case you change the auxiliary: sal … word for future, is … voorberei for the perfect.