Question 1

Why do we use die fabriek (“the factory”) instead of ’n fabriek (“a factory”)?

Accepted Answer

die is the definite article meaning “the.” It signals that we’re talking about a specific, known factory. If you wanted to talk about any factory in general, you would use ’n fabriek (“a factory”).

Question 2

Why is sy used here—does it mean “his” or “its,” and why is there no apostrophe?

Accepted Answer

In Afrikaans, sy is the possessive pronoun for both “his” and “its.” Context tells you that a factory is not a person, so here sy lawaai means “its noise.” Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe in Afrikaans (only the indefinite article ’n has one).

Question 3

Why is the verb hou used instead of maak (“make”)?

Accepted Answer

Here, hou means “to keep” or “to maintain,” so hou … laag means “keep … low.” maak laag would literally mean “make low,” which doesn’t fit this sense of maintaining a low noise level.

Question 4

How does the hou … laag construction work?

Accepted Answer

You have hou (the verb “keep”), then the object (sy lawaai), followed by laag (an adjective/adverb). Together hou sy lawaai laag literally means “keep its noise low.” This verb-adverb pairing is a common way to express “keep something at a certain level.”

Question 5

Why does gewoontlik (“usually”) follow the verb hou instead of appearing at the start?

Accepted Answer

Afrikaans follows V2 (verb-second) word order. If the subject (die fabriek) is first, the finite verb (hou) must be second, and then adverbs like gewoontlik come after that. If you moved gewoontlik to the front (“Gewoonlik hou die fabriek…”), the verb would still stay in second position, and the subject would follow it.

Question 6

Why is it in die nag (“in the night”) rather than plural, and could you say snags instead?

Accepted Answer

Using the singular nag to refer to nighttime in general is perfectly normal in Afrikaans. You can also say snags, an adverb meaning “at night,” for a more conversational style: “Die fabriek hou gewoonlik sy lawaai laag snags.” Both forms are correct.

Die fabriek hou gewoonlik sy lawaai laag in die nag.

Breakdown of Die fabriek hou gewoonlik sy lawaai laag in die nag.

Questions & Answers about Die fabriek hou gewoonlik sy lawaai laag in die nag.

Master Afrikaans — from Die fabriek hou gewoonlik sy lawaai laag in die nag to fluency