Ek sien die vliegtuig by die lughawe.

I see the airplane at the airport.

Breakdown of Ek sien die vliegtuig by die lughawe.

• ek: I
• sien: to see
• die: the
• by: at
• die lughawe: the airport
• die vliegtuig: the airplane

Questions & Answers about Ek sien die vliegtuig by die lughawe.

In the sentence, why is sien used instead of kyk?

Sien means “to see” in the sense of perceiving something with your eyes, whereas kyk means “to look” or “to watch” (i.e. directing your gaze intentionally). Here you’re simply stating that you perceive the plane, so you use sien.

Why are there two instances of die?

Die is the definite article “the.” Afrikaans uses die for all genders and both singular and plural. Since both vliegtuig (“plane”) and lughawe (“airport”) are definite here, each noun gets its own die.

Could you explain the role of by in by die lughawe? Why not in or op?

By means “at” or “by” in the sense of proximity. So by die lughawe = “at the airport” (near or outside).
In die lughawe would mean “inside the airport,” and op die lughawe isn’t used because op normally means “on” (e.g. op die tafel = “on the table”).

How is word order structured here compared to English?

Afrikaans follows a Subject-Verb-Object pattern just like English in simple statements.
Subject: Ek (“I”)
Verb: sien (“see”)
Object: die vliegtuig (“the plane”)
Then the prepositional phrase by die lughawe (“at the airport”).

Why isn’t there a progressive tense (“I am seeing”)?

Afrikaans doesn’t have a continuous or progressive form like English does. The simple present (Ek sien) covers both “I see” and “I am seeing” in English. Context tells you whether it’s a one-off or an ongoing action.

What are vliegtuig and lughawe? They look like compounds.

Yes.
vliegtuig = vlieg (fly) + tuig (apparatus) → “flying machine” or “airplane.”
lughawe = lug (air) + hawe (harbor) → “air harbor,” i.e. “airport.”

How do you pronounce vliegtuig and lughawe?

vliegtuig: sounds roughly like “fl-EEKH-tuykh,” with the “g” as a soft guttural (like a light clearing of the throat).
lughawe: “LUKH-ha-veh,” again a soft “g” (written as g) and the final -we pronounced “veh.”

Do Afrikaans nouns have gender?

No. Unlike German or Dutch, Afrikaans nouns are all treated the same. You always use die for “the” and ’n for “a/an,” regardless of any noun’s “gender.”