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Questions & Answers about Ná die fliek sien ons weer ’n helder reënboog bo die stadion.
Why is there an accent on ná instead of writing na?
ná with an acute accent means “after” in a temporal sense. Without the accent, na (plain) is a preposition meaning “to” or “towards.” The accent distinguishes the time-related “after” from the directional “to.”
What is the function of the introductory phrase Ná die fliek, and why does the verb come immediately after it?
Afrikaans follows a verb-second (V2) word order. When you start a sentence with an adverbial or time phrase like Ná die fliek, the finite verb (sien) must follow in second position, so you get Ná die fliek sien ons (“After the movie see we…”).
Could I also say Ons sien ná die fliek weer ’n helder reënboog bo die stadion? Does that change the meaning?
Yes. Ons sien ná die fliek weer… is perfectly correct and means the same. Placing Ná die fliek after the subject keeps the standard Subject-Verb-Object order; moving it to the front simply emphasizes the time.
What does ’n stand for, and why is there an apostrophe?
’n is the indefinite article “a” or “an,” an abbreviated form of een (“one”). The apostrophe marks the dropped e.
Why is reënboog written as one word instead of two?
Afrikaans commonly forms compound nouns by concatenating two words without a hyphen. Here reën (rain) + boog (arc) = reënboog (“rainbow”).
What does the adjective helder mean in this sentence?
helder means “bright,” “vivid,” or “clear.” So ’n helder reënboog is a bright or vivid rainbow.
Where does the adverb weer (“again”) belong, and why is it positioned before ’n helder reënboog?
Adverbs of repetition like weer generally follow the verb and precede the object in Afrikaans: sien ons weer ’n helder reënboog means “we see again a bright rainbow.”
What does the preposition bo indicate?
bo means “above” or “over.” So bo die stadion tells us the rainbow appears above the stadium.
Why isn’t there a comma after fliek or stadion?
Afrikaans doesn’t require a comma after a simple introductory phrase like Ná die fliek, nor at the end before a short prepositional phrase bo die stadion. The sentence is clear without additional punctuation.
Why is the verb sien not conjugated differently for “we”?
Afrikaans verbs don’t change form according to person or number in the present tense. You use sien for ek sien (I see), jy sien (you see), ons sien (we see), etc.