Breakdown of Die gids lei elke besoeker na die geheime afdeling.
die
the
na
to
elke
each
die gids
the guide
die besoeker
the visitor
die afdeling
the section
geheim
secret
lei
to lead
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Questions & Answers about Die gids lei elke besoeker na die geheime afdeling.
Why doesn't the verb lei end in -s for third-person singular?
In Afrikaans the present tense of verbs does not change for person or number. You say ek lei, jy lei, hy lei, ons lei, hulle lei—no extra endings are added.
Why is the adjective geheim spelled geheime before afdeling?
With the definite article die, adjectives take an -e ending. So geheim becomes geheime because we are talking about die geheime afdeling (“the secret section”).
What's the difference between elke besoeker and alle besoekers?
Elke means every and is followed by a singular noun: elke besoeker = every visitor (one at a time). Alle means all and goes with a plural noun: alle besoekers = all visitors (the group).
Why is na used here, and not something like aan or tot?
Na is the standard preposition for “to” when indicating movement towards a place. Aan can mean “to” when giving something, and tot means “until” or “up to.” For destination you use na.
Could the sentence be Die gids lei elke besoeker na die geheime afdeling toe, and would that change the meaning?
Yes, you can add toe to reinforce the idea of motion (“to over there”), but it’s optional. Na … toe is common in speech but doesn’t change the basic meaning.
When do you use the definite article die in Afrikaans?
Die is used like the in English—before a specific or known noun. In the example you have a specific guide and a specific secret section, so both get die.
Is the word order in Die gids lei elke besoeker na die geheime afdeling the same as English?
Yes. Afrikaans follows Subject–Verb–Object in main clauses, and prepositional phrases (like na die geheime afdeling) come after the direct object.
Why aren’t there any capital letters besides the first word?
In Afrikaans you only capitalize the first word of a sentence and proper names. Common nouns are lower-case.
How do you pronounce gids and afdeling?
Gids is pronounced [ɡɪts], with a hard “g” like a soft ch in Scottish “loch.” Afdeling is [ˈɑf.dəl.ɪŋ], with the final g sounding like the ng in “sing.”
Do Afrikaans nouns have grammatical gender like in German or Dutch?
No. Afrikaans dropped grammatical gender long ago. All nouns (whether masculine, feminine or neuter in Dutch) are treated the same and only take die for “the.”