Is jy seker dat die deur al oop is?

Are you sure that the door is already open?

Breakdown of Is jy seker dat die deur al oop is?

• jy: you
• wees: to be
• die deur: the door
• dat: that

Questions & Answers about Is jy seker dat die deur al oop is?

Why does the sentence start with Is jy instead of Jy is?

Because this is a yes/no question.

In Afrikaans, just like in English, the verb often comes before the subject in a direct question:

• Jy is seker. = You are sure.
• Is jy seker? = Are you sure?

So Is jy seker ...? is the normal question order.

What does seker mean here?

Seker means sure or certain.

So:

• Ek is seker. = I am sure.
• Is jy seker? = Are you sure?

It is a very common word in everyday Afrikaans.

What does dat do in this sentence?

Dat means that.

It introduces the clause die deur al oop is, which gives the content of what someone is sure about:

• Is jy seker ... = Are you sure ...
• dat die deur al oop is? = that the door is already open?

So dat works very much like English that.

Can dat be left out, like English sometimes can?