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Hy sê dat die strand stiller is op Woensdag.

Hy sê dat die strand stiller is op Woensdag.
He says that the beach is quieter on Wednesday.
FromLesson 9inHardcore Afrikaans

Breakdown of Hy sê dat die strand stiller is op Woensdag.

hy
he
wees
to be
dat
that
sê
to say
op
on
stil
quiet
die strand
the beach
Woensdag
Wednesday

Questions & Answers about Hy sê dat die strand stiller is op Woensdag.

Why does Afrikaans use Hy for “he” instead of Hij, like in Dutch?
Afrikaans pronouns have been simplified compared to Dutch. The standard third-person singular masculine pronoun in Afrikaans is hy (pronounced like English “high”), whereas Dutch uses hij. There is no hij in Afrikaans, and hy covers the same meaning.
What’s the difference between se and sê?
They look similar but mean completely different things. sê (with the caret/circumflex) is the verb “to say.” Without the accent, se is a possessive marker meaning “’s” or “of,” as in die man se boek (“the man’s book”). In writing the accent distinguishes them.
Why is dat used here, and can I drop it?
dat is the conjunction “that,” introducing the subordinate clause. In formal Afrikaans you normally include it: Hy sê dat.... In casual or spoken Afrikaans you often drop dat, saying simply Hy sê die strand stiller is op Woensdag, and the meaning stays clear.
Why does the clause read die strand stiller is rather than is stiller die strand?

In subordinate clauses introduced by dat, Afrikaans uses Subject–Complement–Verb (SCV) order. Here:

  • Subject = die strand
  • Complement = stiller (the adjective “quieter”)
  • Verb = is
    Putting the verb at the very end is normal in subordinate clauses.
How do you form the comparative stiller?
The base adjective stil (“quiet”) is one syllable, so you form the comparative by adding -er: stiller (“quieter”). For longer adjectives you usually use meer + adjective (e.g. meer interessant = “more interesting”).
Why is op Woensdag used for “on Wednesday”? Must you always use op with days?
Yes. In Afrikaans you generally use op + a day of the week to mean “on [that day].” So op Woensdag = “on Wednesday,” op Vrydag = “on Friday,” etc.
Why is Woensdag capitalized?
Like in English, all days of the week are proper nouns in Afrikaans and are therefore capitalized: Maandag, Dinsdag, Woensdag, etc.
Why is the article die used before strand? Are there gendered articles in Afrikaans?
Afrikaans has only one definite article—die—for all nouns, regardless of gender or number. There is no masculine/feminine/neuter distinction, so die strand simply means “the beach.”
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