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Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Die vraag is maklik. - The question is easy.

Hardcore Afrikaans
/Lesson 22
/Die vraag is maklik.

Die vraag is maklik.

Die vraag is maklik.

The question is easy.

Breakdown of Die vraag is maklik.

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Questions & Answers about Die vraag is maklik.

What does die mean here?

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, so here it means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

singular nouns: die vraag = the question
plural nouns: die vrae = the questions

Unlike languages such as German, Afrikaans does not change the article for grammatical gender.

Does Afrikaans have grammatical gender for nouns like masculine or feminine?

No. Afrikaans nouns do not use grammatical gender the way many European languages do.

So you do not need to learn different words for the depending on whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. Die works across the board for definite nouns.

That makes die vraag much simpler than in some other languages.

Why is the word order Die vraag is maklik?

This is the normal word order for a simple statement:

subject + verb + complement

So:

Die vraag = subject
is = verb
maklik = adjective/complement

This is very similar to English: The question is easy.

Also, Afrikaans main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern, and this sentence fits that pattern naturally.

Is is used the same way as English is?

Mostly yes. Is is the present-tense form of to be in this sentence.

A very useful difference from English is that Afrikaans does not change this form for different persons in the present tense:

ek is = I am
jy is = you are
hy/sy is = he/she is
ons is = we are
hulle is = they are

So Afrikaans is simpler here than English.

Why is it maklik and not something like maklike?

Because maklik comes after the verb is.

In Afrikaans, adjectives are often:

unchanged after a linking verb like is
often given an -e ending when they come before a noun

Compare:

Die vraag is maklik. = The question is easy.
'n maklike vraag = an easy question

So in your sentence, maklik stays in its basic form.

How do I pronounce vraag?

A rough pronunciation guide is fraakh.

A few helpful points:

v in Afrikaans is often pronounced closer to an English f
aa is a long vowel
the final g is the well-known Afrikaans guttural sound, like a throaty ch

So vraag does not sound like English vrag or vrague. It is closer to fraakh.

How do I pronounce maklik?

A rough guide is MAAK-lik or MAAK-lək, depending on accent.

Helpful points:

the stress is on the first syllable
the a is broad, not like the a in cat
the second syllable is often reduced a bit in natural speech

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away; the important thing is to stress the first syllable and keep the word flowing smoothly.

Is vraag related to the verb vra?

Yes. They are closely related.

vra = to ask
vraag = question

So the noun vraag is connected to the idea of asking.

This is useful because it helps build vocabulary families:

Ek vra. = I ask.
Die vraag = the question.

How would I say a question is easy instead?

You would usually say:

'n vraag is maklik.

Here, 'n is the indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

die vraag = the question
'n vraag = a question

Also note that 'n is usually not stressed strongly in speech.

How would I turn this into a yes/no question?

You move the verb to the front:

Is die vraag maklik?

This is very similar to English:

The question is easy.
Is the question easy?

So the statement becomes a question mainly through inversion.

What is the plural of vraag?

The plural is vrae.

So:

die vraag = the question
die vrae = the questions

Notice that the definite article stays die in the plural as well.

A full sentence would be:

Die vrae is maklik. = The questions are easy.

Can I drop die and just say Vraag is maklik?

Normally, no. In a full natural sentence, you would usually need an article or some other determiner unless the noun is being used in a special way.

So the normal forms are:

Die vraag is maklik.
'n vraag is maklik.

Leaving out the article would usually sound incomplete or unnatural to a learner’s ear, and in most contexts it would not be standard.

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