Breakdown of Sy maak ’n ernstige poging om niks te vergeet nie.
sy
she
nie
not
om
to
’n
a
maak
to make
vergeet
to forget
ernstig
serious
die poging
the effort
niks
nothing
Questions & Answers about Sy maak ’n ernstige poging om niks te vergeet nie.
What does Sy mean in this sentence?
Sy is the third-person singular pronoun meaning she.
Why is there an apostrophe in ’n?
The apostrophe in ’n indicates the shortened form of the indefinite article een (equivalent to a or an in English). It’s always written as ’n before a noun.
What does ernstige poging mean?
Ernstige poging literally means serious attempt. Ernstige (serious) describes the noun poging (attempt/effort), emphasizing that the effort is substantial or sincere.
How do you express “to attempt” in Afrikaans?
Afrikaans doesn’t have a single verb for “to attempt.” Instead you use the phrase maak ’n poging (literally make an attempt). So Sy maak ’n poging = She makes an attempt.
Why is there a double negative with niks ... nie?
Afrikaans uses double negation for standard negation. Niks means nothing, and you must repeat the negation with nie at the end of the clause. So om niks te vergeet nie = in order not to forget anything.
What is the role of om ... te in om niks te vergeet nie?
Om ... te is the infinitive marker in Afrikaans. Om introduces the infinitive clause and te precedes the verb. Here it frames vergeet, so the clause means in order not to forget.
Why does vergeet stay in its base form instead of being conjugated?
After om + te, you always use the infinitive (base) form of the verb. No additional ending or conjugation is required.
Can you reorder the words in the negative infinitive clause?
No, the standard order is om + (object) + te + verb + nie. You cannot move nie or te around. So om niks te vergeet nie is correct, but om nie niks vergeet te nie is not.
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