Die kattebak is oop.

to be

Breakdown of Die kattebak is oop.

• oop: open
• die kattebak: the car boot; trunk

Questions & Answers about Die kattebak is oop.

Why is the sentence starting with die?

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

A useful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans does not have different words like the for different genders. It just uses die. It is also used for both singular and plural nouns.

So here, die kattebak means the trunk / the boot.

Why is it is and not different forms like am or are?

Afrikaans is simpler than English here. The verb wees means to be, and in the present tense you normally use is for all persons:

Ek is – I am
Jy is – you are
Hy is – he is
Ons is – we are
Hulle is – they are

So Die kattebak is oop uses the normal present-tense form.

Why is oop at the end of the sentence?