Die ompad gaan deur die dorp.

the town

Breakdown of Die ompad gaan deur die dorp.

• gaan: to go
• deur: through
• die ompad: the detour

Questions & Answers about Die ompad gaan deur die dorp.

Why is die used twice?

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence, it appears before two different nouns:

• die ompad = the detour
• die dorp = the town / the village

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and unlike languages such as German, it does not have different forms like the for masculine/feminine/neuter nouns. Die works for all of them.

What does ompad mean exactly?

Ompad means detour or a way around.

It is built from:

• om = around
• pad = road / path / way

So the word gives the idea of an alternative route that goes around something.

Why is gaan used here? Does it literally mean goes?