Hulle kook dikwels groente in die kombuis.

They often cook vegetables in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Hulle kook dikwels groente in die kombuis.

• hulle: they
• in: in
• die groente: the vegetable
• kook: to cook
• die kombuis: the kitchen
• dikwels: often

Questions & Answers about Hulle kook dikwels groente in die kombuis.

What does Hulle mean and how do you pronounce it?

Hulle is the third-person plural pronoun they. It’s pronounced [ˈhʏlə], roughly “HUH-luh,” with a short “u” as in “put.”

How does the present tense work in Afrikaans, for example with kook?

Afrikaans verbs never change form for person or number in the present tense. You simply use the infinitive stem:
• ek kook (I cook)
• jy kook (you cook)
• hulle kook (they cook)
There’s no extra ending or auxiliary needed.

Why is the adverb dikwels placed between the verb and the object? Could it go elsewhere?

Afrikaans main-clause word order follows a V2 rule (“verb second”). The first element (subject, adverb, etc.) comes first, the finite verb is second, then adverbials or objects. In Hulle kook dikwels groente… the subject hulle is first, kook is second, and dikwels follows as an adverb. You could also front the adverb:

Dikwels kook hulle groente in die kombuis.
(Here Dikwels is first, kook stays in second position.)

What is groente? Is it singular or plural, and why is there no article before it?

Groente is a collective/mass noun meaning vegetables in general. In Afrikaans it’s treated like a mass noun—you don’t add a plural -e or an indefinite article. If you want the vegetables, you use the definite article: die groente.

Why do we say in die kombuis instead of in kombuis or in ’n kombuis?

Afrikaans requires an article with most singular common nouns after a preposition.
• in die kombuis = in the kitchen (definite)
• in ’n kombuis = in a kitchen (indefinite)
Dropping the article (in kombuis) is ungrammatical in standard Afrikaans.

How do you make this sentence negative?

Afrikaans uses double negation with nie … nie. Place the first nie after the verb phrase (or adverb) and the final nie at the end of the clause:
Hulle kook nie dikwels groente in die kombuis nie.
(= They do not often cook vegetables in the kitchen.)

How would you turn this into a yes/no question?

Swap the finite verb and subject (inversion):
Kook hulle dikwels groente in die kombuis?
(= Do they often cook vegetables in the kitchen?)

How can you ask “How often do they cook vegetables in the kitchen?” in Afrikaans?

Use the question word hoe dikwels at the front, then verb-subject inversion:
Hoe dikwels kook hulle groente in die kombuis?
(= How often do they cook vegetables in the kitchen?)