Breakdown of Die gids wys vir ons die ingang van die museum.
vir
for
ons
us
van
of
die museum
the museum
die ingang
the entrance
die gids
the guide
wys
to show
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Questions & Answers about Die gids wys vir ons die ingang van die museum.
What part of speech and tense is wys in this sentence?
wys is a verb in the simple present tense, third person singular, meaning “(he/she/it) shows” or “(he/she/it) is showing.”
Why does the sentence use vir ons instead of just ons?
In Afrikaans, all indirect objects require the preposition vir (“for”). You can’t drop it and say wys ons for “show us.” The structure is wys vir [pronoun/object] [direct object].
Can you swap the indirect and direct objects here? For example, say Die gids wys die ingang van die museum vir ons?
Yes. Unlike English, Afrikaans allows some flexibility in object order. Both
• Die gids wys vir ons die ingang van die museum.
and
• Die gids wys die ingang van die museum vir ons.
are correct. The difference is only one of emphasis or style.
Why is there a second die before museum in die ingang van die museum?
Each common noun in Afrikaans normally has its own definite article. In a genitive (of-) construction you still put die in front of the second noun: die X van die Y = “the X of the Y.”
What does the preposition van do in die ingang van die museum?
van means “of” or “from” here. It links ingang (“entrance”) to museum, marking the entrance as belonging to or associated with the museum.
What’s the difference between ingang and deur?
ingang means “entrance” in the sense of the entry point or foyer of a building. deur means “door,” the physical object that opens and closes. You use ingang when talking about entering a place.
Could you shorten die ingang van die museum to one compound word like museumingang?
You could say museumingang, but it’s less common in everyday speech. Afrikaans speakers usually prefer the clear die ingang van die museum construction for readability and emphasis.