Breakdown of Die vriendelike baas gee ’n prys aan elke vriendelike leerling.
die
the
aan
to
gee
to give
elke
every
die leerling
the pupil
die prys
the prize
die baas
the boss
vriendelik
friendly
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Afrikaans grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Die vriendelike baas gee ’n prys aan elke vriendelike leerling.
Why does the adjective vriendelik take an –e ending in die vriendelike baas and elke vriendelike leerling?
In Afrikaans, an adjective used directly before a noun (an attributive adjective) takes an -e ending whenever the noun is preceded by a definite article (die), a demonstrative (hierdie, daardie) or certain quantifiers (elke, sommige, baie, etc.). Because both baas and leerling are introduced by die and elke, vriendelik becomes vriendelike.
What are the functions of die and ’n, and how do they differ?
die is the definite article (English “the”), used with nouns that refer to something specific or known.
’n (pronounced [ən]) is the indefinite article (English “a” or “an”), used with singular nouns to refer to something nonspecific.
Why is there an apostrophe in front of ’n?
’n is a contraction of the old Afrikaans word een (“one”). The apostrophe shows that the initial e has been dropped. You always write ’n with an apostrophe to distinguish it from the number een.
How do you express “giving something to someone” in Afrikaans, and why is aan used here?
The verb gee (“to give”) can take both a direct object (what’s given) and an indirect object (to whom).
- When the indirect object is a noun phrase and comes after the direct object, you introduce it with the preposition aan:
“Gee ’n prys aan elke vriendelike leerling.” - If the indirect object is a pronoun, you can say, for example, “Gee hom ’n prys” without aan.
Why is the word order “gee ’n prys aan elke vriendelike leerling” instead of “gee elke leerling ’n prys”?
Both orders are grammatically correct. Afrikaans allows two patterns:
- Direct Object + aan
- Indirect Object (“Gee ’n prys aan elke leerling.”)
- Indirect Object + Direct Object (without aan) (“Gee elke leerling ’n prys.”)
The first highlights the prize by placing it first; the second highlights the pupil by placing them first.
What does elke mean, and why is leerling singular after it?
elke means “each” or “every” and always takes a singular noun. You cannot say elke leerlings or elke leerlingen—it must be elke leerling.
What exactly does leerling mean? Is it the same as student?
leerling literally means “pupil” or “learner,” typically at primary or high school.
student refers to someone at a tertiary (university/college) level. So leerling is a school pupil, not a university student.
Does Afrikaans have grammatical gender, and does die change for masculine/feminine nouns?
No—Afrikaans has no grammatical gender. There is only one definite article, die, used for all nouns (masculine, feminine, singular, plural).