Breakdown of In die voorportaal word sagte musiek vir die gaste gespeel.
die
the
wees
to be
in
in
speel
to play
vir
for
die gas
the guest
die voorportaal
the lobby
sag
soft
die musiek
the music
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Questions & Answers about In die voorportaal word sagte musiek vir die gaste gespeel.
What does voorportaal mean in this sentence?
voorportaal is a compound of voor (“front”/“before”) and portaal (“portal”/“hall”). In English it corresponds to foyer or entrance hall.
Why is the sentence in the passive voice with word gespeel instead of using an active verb like speel?
Afrikaans uses the passive when the performer of the action is unknown or unimportant. Here we don’t say who plays the music, just that soft music is played. In Afrikaans you form the present passive with word + past participle (gespeel), analogous to English is played.
What role does word play in word gespeel?
word is the auxiliary (helping) verb that marks the present passive tense. It’s equivalent to English is in “is played.”
Why does word appear before sagte musiek? In English the subject usually comes first.
Afrikaans follows a verb‐second (V2) word order. Since the sentence begins with the adverbial phrase In die voorportaal, the finite verb (word) must occupy the second slot, pushing the subject (sagte musiek) to third position.
How exactly is the passive formed in Afrikaans?
For the present passive, use word + past participle:
• word + ge-stem ‑t (for most weak verbs)
E.g. word gespeel (from speel).
For a perfect passive you can use is + past participle (e.g. is gespeel = “has been played”).
Why is the past participle of speel written gespeel and not something like gepeel or gespeeld?
In Afrikaans many verbs whose stems end in a vowel or certain consonants form the past participle with just ge- + stem (no -d/-t). speel ends in the vowel sound -eel, so it becomes ge-speel = gespeel.
Why does sagte end in -e? Wouldn’t the root be sag?
When an adjective directly precedes a noun in Afrikaans (attributive position), you normally add -e to the root unless the adjective already ends in -e, -i, -o, -u, -er, -el, -en or a diphthong. So sag → sagte musiek.
Why is there no article before sagte musiek (no ’n or die)?
musiek is treated as a mass (uncountable) noun in Afrikaans, so it usually appears without an indefinite article (’n). You could say die sagte musiek (“the soft music”), but here it’s a general statement: “soft music is played,” so just sagte musiek.
Why is vir die gaste used rather than aan die gaste?
vir corresponds to English for and indicates the beneficiary of the action. You’re playing music for the guests. aan would imply direct physical direction (“to the guests”), which isn’t idiomatic with music.
How would you express the same idea in the active voice in Afrikaans?
You could say:
In die voorportaal speel hulle sagte musiek vir die gaste.
(This literally means “In the foyer they play soft music for the guests.”)