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Die koffie is gratis.

Die koffie is gratis.
The coffee is free.
FromLesson 7inHardcore Afrikaans

Breakdown of Die koffie is gratis.

wees
to be
gratis
free
die koffie
the coffee

Questions & Answers about Die koffie is gratis.

What does the word die mean here in die koffie is gratis?
die is the definite article in Afrikaans, equivalent to the in English. It precedes all nouns—there’s no gender or number change (so it works for singular, plural, masculine, feminine, etc.).
Why is there no indefinite article like a or an before koffie? How would I say a coffee is free?

Afrikaans uses ’n (pronounced “en”) as the equivalent of a/an. To say a coffee is free, you’d write:
’n koffie is gratis

How do I say coffee is free in general, without the?

Just drop the article and start with the noun:
Koffie is gratis.
That treats coffee as a general, uncountable concept.

How is koffie pronounced?

Phonetically it’s /ˈkɔ.fi/.

  • k = like English k
  • o = like the “o” in saw
  • ffie = like fee
    Stress falls on the first syllable.
Why doesn’t gratis change form? In English, adjectives sometimes change.
In Afrikaans, predicative adjectives (those following a linking verb like is) stay in their base form—no ending changes for number or gender. So gratis remains gratis whether singular or plural.
How would I turn this statement into the question Is the coffee free?

Invert the verb and subject, keeping the rest the same:
Is die koffie gratis?
Afrikaans yes/no questions generally follow Verb-Subject-Object order.

Can gratis be used with other nouns? Must it always come after is?

Yes, you can use gratis with any noun to mean free of charge:

  • Die koek is gratis (the cake is free)
  • Gratis toegang (free admission) – here gratis is attributive, placed before toegang
  • Ek kry dit gratis (I get it for free)
What if I want to say the coffees are free, like multiple cups?

You can pluralize koffie informally as koffies to mean cups of coffee. Then say:
Die koffies is gratis.

How do you form the negative of this sentence—The coffee is not free?

Use the double negative nie … nie around the predicate:
Die koffie is nie gratis nie.

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