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Questions & Answers about Die vyfde kamer is skoon.
Why is die used as the definite article, and how is it pronounced?
die is the only definite article in Afrikaans, equivalent to English the. It does not change for gender or number and is pronounced /diː/ (like “dee”).
How is the ordinal vyfde formed?
To form ordinals you generally add -de to the cardinal number. Here vyf (5) + -de → vyfde (5th). A few numbers are irregular (e.g. een→eerste, twee→tweede, drie→derde). Numbers ending in -tig (20, 30, …) take -ste, for example twintig→twintigste.
Why doesn’t skoon take an -e ending?
In Die vyfde kamer is skoon the word skoon is a predicate adjective (it follows the copula is), and predicate adjectives in Afrikaans stay in their base form. Adjectives only get -e when used attributively before a noun, for example ’n skone kamer (‘a clean room’).
Why does is appear in the second position?
Afrikaans follows a verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses. With Die vyfde kamer in the first position (the subject), the verb is must come next, followed by the complement skoon.
How do you ask Is the fifth room clean? in Afrikaans?
Invert the verb and subject:
Is die vyfde kamer skoon?
How do you make this sentence negative?
Use double nie around the adjective:
Die vyfde kamer is nie skoon nie.
Why isn’t kamer capitalized?
Unlike English, Afrikaans only capitalizes proper names and the first word of a sentence. Common nouns like kamer remain lowercase.
How would you ask Which room is clean? and answer it using this sentence?
Use watter for “which” and the same structure:
Watter kamer is skoon?
Die vyfde kamer is skoon.