Breakdown of Die gebou is stil, maar die trappe kraak skielik.
wees
to be
maar
but
die trappe
the stairs
die gebou
the building
stil
quiet
kraak
to creak
skielik
suddenly
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Questions & Answers about Die gebou is stil, maar die trappe kraak skielik.
Why is gebou both a noun (“building”) and the past participle of bou (“to build”)? How can I tell them apart, and what’s the plural form?
Though spelled the same, context tells them apart:
- As a noun, gebou appears with articles or adjectives (e.g., Die gebou is stil).
- As a participle, it follows an auxiliary like het (e.g., Ons het die muur gebou).
The plural of the noun gebou is geboue (e.g., drie geboue).
In English we say “the stairs creak” with an “s” on creak. Why is the Afrikaans verb kraak unchanged for die trappe (plural)?
Afrikaans verbs do not inflect for person or number in the present tense. You always use kraak for all subjects—no extra -s or -t endings.
How do you pronounce the Afrikaans g in words like gebou, trappe, and kraak? It doesn’t sound like the English “g.”
The Afrikaans g is a guttural fricative (like the ch in German “Bach” or Scottish “loch”), not the hard English “g.” It has a throaty, buzzing quality.
After the conjunction maar (“but”), why do we keep Subject–Verb–Object order instead of moving the verb?
maar is a coordinating conjunction, so it links two independent clauses without altering each clause’s basic Subject–Verb–Object order. Only subordinating conjunctions (e.g., dat, wanneer) push the finite verb to the end.
In maar die trappe kraak skielik, the adverb skielik appears at the end. Can I place it elsewhere?
Yes. Time/manner adverbs often come after the verb, but you can front them for emphasis (triggering V2 word order):
- Standard: die trappe kraak skielik
- Emphatic: Skielik kraak die trappe (“Suddenly the stairs creak”).
What nuance does the adjective stil carry here? Can it mean “still” (motionless)?
In Afrikaans stil primarily means “quiet” or “silent.” It doesn’t by itself mean “motionless.” For “still” in the sense of no movement, you’d normally use a phrase like staan stil.
Is trappe “stairs” or “steps”? What is the singular trap?
trap (singular) is one step. trappe (plural) refers to multiple steps or collectively “stairs.” So die trappe = “the stairs.”
Are there other ways to say “suddenly” in Afrikaans besides skielik?
Yes. Common synonyms include opeens, ineens, and onverhoeds. For example: Die trappe kraak opeens.
Why is die repeated before gebou and trappe instead of using it just once?
Each definite noun phrase in Afrikaans requires its own article. You can’t front a single die to cover two separate subjects—so you repeat die for each noun phrase.