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Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Die ondersoek begin nou. - The examination starts now.

Hardcore Afrikaans
/Taking a pet to the vet
/Die ondersoek begin nou.

Die ondersoek begin nou.

Word

Die ondersoek begin nou.

Meaning

The examination starts now.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Afrikaans

Lesson

Taking a pet to the vet

Breakdown of Die ondersoek begin nou.

examination; check-up

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Questions & Answers about Die ondersoek begin nou.

What does die mean here, and is it the same as English the?

Yes. die is the Afrikaans definite article, so here it means the.

A useful difference from English is that Afrikaans uses die for:

singular nouns: die ondersoek = the investigation
plural nouns: die ondersoeke = the investigations

Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, so there is no separate equivalent of the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

What kind of word is ondersoek in this sentence?

Here, ondersoek is a noun, meaning investigation or inquiry.

In other contexts, ondersoek can also be a verb meaning investigate or examine, but in Die ondersoek begin nou, it is clearly a noun because it comes after the article die.

So:

die ondersoek = the investigation
but
Ons ondersoek dit = We investigate it

Why is the verb begin the same as English begin, and why doesn’t it change?

Afrikaans verbs are often much simpler than English verbs. Begin is the infinitive/base form, and in the present tense it usually stays the same for all subjects.

So you get:

Ek begin = I begin / am beginning
Jy begin = you begin
Die ondersoek begin = the investigation begins

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not usually add -s for he/she/it. That is why it is begin, not something like begins.

Why isn’t there a word for is or is beginning in the sentence?

Because Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or the present progressive.

So begin nou can naturally cover:

begins now
is beginning now
is starting now

Afrikaans does have ways to emphasize an ongoing action, but in many ordinary sentences the simple verb form is enough.

Why is the word order Die ondersoek begin nou?

This is normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans:

subject + verb + time expression

So:

Die ondersoek = subject
begin = verb
nou = time word

Afrikaans is a verb-second language in main clauses, which means the finite verb usually comes early in the sentence, typically in second position.

That is why begin comes before nou here.

Could I also say Nou begin die ondersoek?

Yes, absolutely.

Nou begin die ondersoek is also correct. It puts more emphasis on now by moving it to the front.

When an element like nou comes first in an Afrikaans main clause, the verb still stays in second position:

Nou begin die ondersoek

So both are correct:

Die ondersoek begin nou
Nou begin die ondersoek

The difference is mainly one of emphasis and style.

How do you pronounce Die ondersoek begin nou?

A rough English-friendly guide is:

dee UN-der-sook buh-GIN now

A few notes:

die sounds like dee, not like English die
ondersoek has a long oo sound in the last part, roughly like book but longer and tenser
begin is pronounced with stress on the second syllable: be-GIN
nou sounds a lot like English now

Pronunciation varies a little by speaker and region, but this will get you close.

What exactly does nou mean here?

Nou usually means now.

In this sentence it marks the time of the action:

Die ondersoek begin nou = The investigation begins now

Depending on context, nou can sometimes also have a discourse meaning like well, so, or now then, but here it is clearly a time word.

Is this sentence formal or informal?

It sounds fairly neutral and can fit a formal context well, especially because ondersoek is a somewhat formal word.

For example, it would sound natural in:

a police context
an official announcement
a legal or administrative setting
a documentary or news report

The grammar itself is not especially formal; it is just standard Afrikaans.

What is the plural of ondersoek, and would the sentence change much?

The plural is usually ondersoeke.

So:

Die ondersoek begin nou = The investigation begins now
Die ondersoeke begin nou = The investigations begin now

Notice that die stays the same and begin also stays the same. Afrikaans makes this kind of sentence much simpler than English because the article and verb usually do not change much.

Can ondersoek also mean something slightly different from investigation?

Yes. Depending on context, ondersoek can mean:

investigation
inquiry
examination
inspection

So the exact English wording depends on the situation.

For example:

in police or legal language, investigation
in academic or official settings, sometimes inquiry
in medical contexts, it may be closer to examination

In this sentence, the most likely broad meaning is still investigation or inquiry.

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