Die dokter sê goeie gesondheid is belangrik.

to be

Breakdown of Die dokter sê goeie gesondheid is belangrik.

• sê: to say
• belangrik: important
• die dokter: the doctor

Questions & Answers about Die dokter sê goeie gesondheid is belangrik.

Why is the definite article die used before dokter, and does it ever change in Afrikaans?

In Afrikaans die is the only definite article, equivalent to English “the.” It does not change for gender, number or case—it’s always die for both singular and plural (e.g. die boek “the book,” die boeke “the books”).

Why is the adjective goeie ending in -e, rather than just goed?

Afrikaans uses an -e ending on adjectives when they directly precede a noun (this is called the attributive form). So “goed” (good) becomes goeie before “gesondheid.” In predicative position (after a linking verb) you drop the -e:
Die gesondheid is goed.

Why doesn’t the sentence include dat after sê?

Unlike Dutch, Afrikaans often omits the conjunction dat (“that”) after verbs like sê, denk, weet. When you leave out dat, the clause that follows still keeps normal subject-verb order:
Die dokter sê goeie gesondheid is belangrik.
You could include dat without changing meaning:
Die dokter sê dat goeie gesondheid belangrik is.

In the clause goeie gesondheid is belangrik, why is the word order subject-verb-adjective rather than verb-subject?