Sy marineer die vleis.

She marinates the meat.

Breakdown of Sy marineer die vleis.

• sy: she
• die vleis: the meat
• marineer: to marinate

Questions & Answers about Sy marineer die vleis.

What does Sy mean here, and could it mean something else in other sentences?

Here Sy means she because it is the subject of the sentence: Sy marineer die vleis = She marinates/is marinating the meat.

A useful warning for learners: sy can also mean his in other contexts.

• Sy marineer die vleis. = She marinates the meat.
• sy vleis = his meat

In this sentence, because Sy comes before the verb marineer, it clearly means she.

Why is the word order Sy marineer die vleis?

This is the normal basic Afrikaans word order for a simple statement:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Sy = subject
• marineer = verb
• die vleis = object

This is very similar to English:

• She marinates the meat.

Why doesn’t marineer change for she? Shouldn’t it be something like English marinates?