Breakdown of Hy rus teen die muur terwyl hy vir die hysbak wag.
Questions & Answers about Hy rus teen die muur terwyl hy vir die hysbak wag.
In Afrikaans:
- leun means “to lean,” emphasizing the action of tilting or placing weight at an angle.
- rus means “to rest,” implying a more relaxed, stationary position.
So Hy rus teen die muur suggests he’s taking a break or pausing against the wall, not merely tilting against it.
Here teen means against. It shows contact between two surfaces:
• Hy rus teen die muur = he rests against the wall.
Because terwyl is a subordinating conjunction (“while”), it turns the following clause into a subordinate clause. In subordinate clauses in Afrikaans, the finite verb moves to the end:
• Main clause (verb-second): Hy rus teen die muur.
• Subordinate clause (verb-final): terwyl hy vir die hysbak wag.
Yes. But that changes the nuance:
• Hy rus teen die muur en hy wag vir die hysbak.
– You’re simply listing two actions side by side.
• Hy rus teen die muur terwyl hy vir die hysbak wag.
– You emphasize that the resting happens during the waiting.
hysbak = lift-box (compound of hys, “lift,” and bak, “box”), i.e. elevator.
Pronunciation: [hais-bahk]
• hy sounds like English “high”
• s = [s]
• bak sounds like “bahk”
No. To wait for something in Afrikaans you use wag vir. wag op is not used in this context. Use:
• wag vir die hysbak = wait for the elevator
Afrikaans generally follows a verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses, just like German. The finite verb appears as the second element:
- Hy (subject)
- rus (verb)
- teen die muur (rest of the clause)