Questions & Answers about Die kind spring oor die muur.
Why doesn’t spring take an -s like English jumps in the third person?
Afrikaans verbs are not conjugated for person or number in the present tense. You use the same base form for ek (I), jy (you), hy/sy (he/she), ons (we), julle (you pl.) and hulle (they). So ek spring, jy spring, hy spring, ons spring, etc.
Why is the definite article die used for both kind and muur? Does Afrikaans have grammatical gender?
No. Afrikaans has a single definite article die for all nouns—singular or plural, and regardless of “gender.” Both die kind (“the child”) and die muur (“the wall”) simply take die.
How would I say “A child jumps over a wall” using the indefinite article?
Use 'n (short for een, “one/a”) before each noun:
'n kind spring oor 'n muur.
How do I pronounce die, kind, spring, oor and muur?
• die – /diː/ (“dee”)
• kind – /kɪnt/ (“kint,” short i)
• spring – /sprɪŋ/ (like English “spring,” short i)• – /uːr/ (rhymes with English “oar” or “more” without the m)• – /myːr/ (uu = a long rounded u, like German ü; approx. “mure” in English)