Breakdown of My kollega sê die projek sal die hele stelsel verbeter.
die
the
my
my
sal
will
sê
to say
hele
whole
die kollega
the colleague
die projek
the project
die stelsel
the system
verbeter
to improve
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Questions & Answers about My kollega sê die projek sal die hele stelsel verbeter.
What does kollega mean in this sentence?
kollega means colleague or coworker. It’s borrowed from Dutch and used just like in English to refer to someone you work with.
Why isn’t there an article before my kollega?
In Afrikaans, when you use a possessive pronoun (my, jou, sy, etc.), you leave out the indefinite article 'n. So my kollega literally means my colleague, not a colleague of mine — the 'n is dropped.
How is sê pronounced, and is it the same as English say?
sê is pronounced /seː/ — very close to the English say. It’s the verb “to say” or “to tell.”
What is the role of sal, and how is the future tense formed in Afrikaans?
sal is the future-tense auxiliary. To form the future, you use sal + the infinitive of the main verb at the end of the clause. Here, sal verbeter means will improve.
Why is the word order My kollega sê die projek sal … verbeter instead of putting sê at the end?
Afrikaans main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here sê) must appear in the second position. First comes a subject or adverb, then the finite verb, and then the rest of the sentence.
Why is die used before projek, instead of 'n?
die is the definite article (the) in Afrikaans. It’s used because the speaker and listener know which project is meant. You’d use 'n (a/an) only for an unspecified project.
What does die hele stelsel mean, and why hele instead of geheel?
die hele stelsel means the whole system. hele is the attributive form used before nouns. geheel tends to be more formal or used predicatively (e.g. die stelsel is geheel).
What is stelsel, and is there another word for it?
stelsel means system. You might also see the borrowing sisteem, but stelsel is more common in everyday and technical usage.