Breakdown of Die gids groet elke besoeker.
elke
every
die gids
the guide
die besoeker
the visitor
groet
to greet
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Afrikaans grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Die gids groet elke besoeker.
What does Die mean in Afrikaans?
Die is the definite article the. Afrikaans does not distinguish gender or number for die—it’s used for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural nouns alike.
Why isn’t gids capitalized?
Unlike English, Afrikaans only capitalizes the first word of a sentence and proper names. Common nouns such as gids (guide) remain in lowercase.
Why doesn’t groet end in -s for third person singular?
Afrikaans verbs do not change form based on person or number in the present tense. Whether the subject is ek, jy, hy/sy, ons, julle or hulle, the verb stays groet.
What is elke, and why is besoeker singular?
Elke means each or every and always takes a singular noun because it refers to individual members one by one. Hence elke besoeker = each individual visitor, not a group.
What’s the difference between elke and alle?
Elke (each/every) pairs with a singular noun: elke besoeker = each visitor.
Alle (all) pairs with a plural noun: alle besoekers = all visitors.
Use elke to emphasize individuals, alle to speak of the group as a whole.
How would I turn this into a yes/no question?
Invert the verb and subject. You get:
Groet die gids elke besoeker?
Literally “Greets the guide every visitor?” = “Does the guide greet every visitor?”
How do I say “A guide greets every visitor”?
Use the indefinite article ’n (pronounced like English “an”):
’n gids groet elke besoeker.
Here ’n = “a” or “an.”
How do I change the sentence to past tense?
Afrikaans forms the past with het + ge- + verb + -t/-d. So:
Die gids het elke besoeker gegroet.
(“The guide greeted every visitor.”)
How would I say “The guides greet every visitor”?
Pluralize gids to gidse, keep the verb form, and leave besoeker singular after elke:
Die gidse groet elke besoeker.