Hulle ontwikkel 'n strategie.

Here, hulle is the third-person plural pronoun, equivalent to English they.

A useful thing to know is that hulle can also mean them in other contexts, depending on the sentence. For example:

• Hulle ontwikkel 'n strategie. = They are developing a strategy / They develop a strategy.
• Ek sien hulle. = I see them.

So the exact English meaning depends on its role in the sentence.

This sentence follows the normal subject–verb–object order, just like English:

• Hulle = subject
• ontwikkel = verb
• 'n strategie = object

So Afrikaans is being very straightforward here. In a basic main clause, this is the most common pattern.

Because Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs. In the present tense, the verb usually stays the same no matter who the subject is.

So you get:

• Ek ontwikkel
• Jy ontwikkel
• Hy ontwikkel
• Ons ontwikkel
• Hulle ontwikkel

Unlike English, there is no change like I develop but he develops. Afrikaans generally avoids that kind of verb ending.

Yes. Ontwikkel means develop, and it is a helpful cognate for English speakers.

You may notice:

• ontwikkel = develop
• ontwikkeling = development

The beginning ont- is a common Afrikaans prefix, and the word is close enough to English that it is often easy to recognize.

Yes. In this sentence, ontwikkel is present tense.

But Afrikaans present tense can often cover both ideas that English separates:

• They develop a strategy
• They are developing a strategy

If you need to make the action clearly progressive, Afrikaans can do that in other ways, but the simple present often does a lot of work.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.

It is always written with a small n and an apostrophe before it:

• 'n boek
• 'n strategie

A very important spelling rule: even at the beginning of a sentence, it usually stays lowercase:

• 'n Strategie is nodig.

If the whole sentence is written in capitals, then it becomes 'N.

It is usually pronounced as a very weak vowel sound, like the a in English about or sofa.

So 'n strategie is not pronounced like en or like the letter name N. It is much lighter and unstressed.

This is one of the most common pronunciation points for learners.

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender the way some other languages do.

So strategie is not masculine, feminine, or neuter in the grammar. You do not need to learn different articles for different noun genders. That makes Afrikaans simpler than languages like German or Dutch in this area.

A good approximate pronunciation is:

stra-te-GEE

The stress falls on the last part: -gie.

English speakers should be careful not to pronounce it exactly like English strategy. The Afrikaans word is similar in meaning, but the sound pattern is different.

A rough guide for English speakers is:

HUL-leh ont-ve-KHEEL 'n stra-te-GEE

A few notes:

• Hulle has two syllables.
• ontwikkel has a stronger sound in the later part of the word.
• 'n is very weak and short.
• strategie is stressed on the last syllable.

Pronunciation can vary a little by accent, but this will get you close.

Yes, hulle can also be used in possessive expressions, but not in this sentence.

For example:

• hulle strategie = their strategy

But in Hulle ontwikkel 'n strategie, hulle is the subject pronoun, so it means they, not their.

That is something learners often notice, because the same word can appear in different functions.

The plural is strategieë.

So:

• 'n strategie = one strategy
• strategieë = strategies

Notice the ë, which helps show the pronunciation clearly. This is a useful spelling feature in Afrikaans.