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Questions & Answers about Die see bly kalm.
What does die mean in Die see bly kalm, and is it the same as the English verb “die”?
In Afrikaans, die is the definite article the, not the verb “to die.” It’s pronounced /diː/ (like English “dee”).
How do you pronounce see in Die see bly kalm—is it the same as the English word “see”?
No, it’s pronounced /seː/, rhyming with English “say.” see means sea, not “see.”
Why is bly used here instead of is? Can’t you just say “Die see is kalm”?
You can say Die see is kalm for “The sea is calm,” but bly means remains or stays, adding the idea that it continues to be calm. So bly = “remains/stays,” is = “is.”
What part of speech is bly, and how does it function in this sentence?
bly is an intransitive verb used like a linking verb (copula) meaning “to remain” or “to stay.” It connects the subject (Die see) to its complement (kalm).
Why doesn’t kalm get an -e ending even though die is a definite article?
Afrikaans adjectives only take -e when used attributively before a noun with a definite article (e.g., die kalme see = “the calm sea”). In Die see bly kalm, kalm is a predicate adjective after the verb bly, so it stays in its base form.
What’s the word order here? It looks like Subject-Verb-Adjective—does that follow a rule?
Yes. Afrikaans normally follows S-V-O order. When you have a subject (Die see), a verb (bly), and then an adjective as a complement (kalm), it’s simply S-V-Complement.
Is kalm related to the English word “calm”?
Exactly. kalm is a cognate of English calm, so they share meaning and a similar spelling.