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Questions & Answers about ’n Helder reënboog verskyn bo die wolk ná die reën.
Why is the indefinite article written as ’n with an apostrophe and never capitalized, even at the beginning of the sentence?
In Afrikaans the indefinite article is always the shortened form ’n (from een). The apostrophe shows the missing e, and ’n remains lower-case in all positions—you will never see ’N in standard writing.
Why isn’t Helder capitalized?
Adjectives are never capitalized in Afrikaans, even when they start a sentence. Only proper nouns and the very first word (unless it’s ’n) get a capital letter.
Why doesn’t the third-person singular verb take a -t ending on verskyn?
Afrikaans verbs in the present tense don’t inflect for person or number. You simply use the stem for all subjects: ek verskyn, jy verskyn, hy verskyn, etc.
What do the diacritical marks on reën and ná indicate?
The diaeresis (¨) on ë in reën shows that the two e’s form separate syllables (re-ën). The acute accent on á in ná marks stress and distinguishes the preposition after from na (to/towards).
Why is reënboog written as a single word without a hyphen?
Afrikaans compounds are usually closed. Here reën (rain) + boog (bow/arc) combine into reënboog (rainbow). Hyphens are only used when joining would create confusing vowel clusters.
Why is the noun wolk singular here, and could I say wolke instead?
This sentence describes something happening above a single cloud, so you use the singular wolk. If you want to say above the clouds, you’d use the plural wolke: bo die wolke.
Why is the word order Subject + Verb + Adverbial, and what if I put Ná die reën at the front?
In main clauses Afrikaans uses Subject–Verb–Adverbial order. If you move the adverbial phrase (time/place) to the front, the verb still stays in second position:
Ná die reën verskyn ’n helder reënboog bo die wolk.