Die herstelkoste is hoog.

to be

Breakdown of Die herstelkoste is hoog.

• die herstelkoste: repair costs
• hoog: high

Questions & Answers about Die herstelkoste is hoog.

What does die mean here?

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

A useful thing to remember: Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So you do not have to learn different forms like the for one case and another article for a different gender.

Is die singular or plural in this sentence?

By itself, die can be either singular or plural. The article does not change.

In this sentence, herstelkoste refers to repair costs, so the idea is naturally plural or collective in meaning. Afrikaans does not mark that difference on the article.

Why is herstelkoste written as one word?

Because Afrikaans normally writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• herstel
  • koste → herstelkoste

This is very common in Afrikaans, just as in Dutch and German. English often uses two words where Afrikaans prefers one compound word.

What are the parts of herstelkoste?