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Questions & Answers about Wat 'n drie!
What does wat mean here? Is this a question?
No. Here wat is not asking a question. In Wat 'n drie!, it introduces an exclamation.
This pattern, Wat 'n + noun!, is used like English What a/an ...! For example, it can show surprise, admiration, excitement, or strong reaction.
So the sentence is structurally an exclamation, not a normal information question.
What is 'n, and why does it have an apostrophe?
'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.
It is written with an apostrophe because it is a reduced, unstressed form. In speech, it is usually very weak, more like a short uh sound than a fully pronounced word.
A useful thing to remember:
- 'n is always written with a lowercase n
- even at the beginning of a sentence, the n stays lowercase
For example:
- 'n groot dag
- 'n Man staan daar.
Why is there no verb in Wat 'n drie!?