Ons waardeer die personeel se vriendelikheid elke dag.

We appreciate the staff’s friendliness every day.

Breakdown of Ons waardeer die personeel se vriendelikheid elke dag.

• ons: we
• se: ’s
• die personeel: the staff
• waardeer: to appreciate
• die vriendelikheid: the friendliness
• elke dag: every day

Questions & Answers about Ons waardeer die personeel se vriendelikheid elke dag.

What does waardeer mean, and how is the present tense formed in Afrikaans?

waardeer means “appreciate” or “value.” In Afrikaans the present tense is invariant: you use waardeer for all subjects. For example:

• ek waardeer (I appreciate)
• jy waardeer (you appreciate)
• ons waardeer (we appreciate)
• hulle waardeer (they appreciate)

How do you express possession in Afrikaans, as in die personeel se vriendelikheid?

Afrikaans uses the possessive particle se instead of an apostrophe-s. You place se after the possessor noun:

• die personeel se vriendelikheid = “the staff’s friendliness.”
  There is no apostrophe; se alone marks possession.

Why is there a definite article die before personeel?

Here you’re talking about a specific group (“the staff”). Afrikaans requires die (“the”) before a noun when it’s definite. Without die, it would feel incomplete: you normally say die personeel when you mean “the staff.”

Is personeel singular or plural in Afrikaans?

personeel is a collective noun treated as singular. Even though it refers to multiple people, verbs and possessive constructions agree as if it were one unit.

Could you also say vriendelikheid van die personeel instead of die personeel se vriendelikheid?

Yes. vriendelikheid van die personeel (“friendliness of the staff”) is grammatically correct. However, using se is more concise and common in everyday speech.

What does elke dag mean, and why is it two separate words?

elke dag means “every day.” Unlike English, Afrikaans keeps elke (“every”) and dag (“day”) as two words.

Can you replace elke dag with a single-word adverb?

Yes – you can use daagliks (“daily”). For example:
Ons waardeer die personeel se vriendelikheid daagliks.

How do you pronounce waardeer, personeel, and vriendelikheid?

Approximate pronunciations using English sounds:

• waardeer: VAAR-deer (with a rolled or tapped “r”)
• personeel: per-suh-NEEL
• vriendelikheid: frin-duh-LICK-hate (the “hate” rhymes with English “bait”)

What part of speech is ons in this sentence?

ons is the first-person plural subject pronoun (“we”). Note that ons can also be a possessive adjective (“our”), e.g. ons huis = “our house,” but here it means “we” as the subject of waardeer.