Sy dokumenteer die beskadigde toerusting.

she

Breakdown of Sy dokumenteer die beskadigde toerusting.

• die: the
• die toerusting: the equipment
• dokumenteer: to document

Questions & Answers about Sy dokumenteer die beskadigde toerusting.

What does sy mean here, and how do I know it means she rather than her?

In this sentence, sy means she because it is the subject of the sentence — the person doing the action.

• Sy dokumenteer ... = She documents ...

Afrikaans often uses the same form in places where English changes the pronoun:

• sy = she
• haar = often her, but usage can vary depending on structure

So here, because sy comes first and performs the verb dokumenteer, it is understood as she.

Does Afrikaans have grammatical gender like some other European languages?

No, Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender for nouns the way languages like German or Dutch do. That means nouns do not usually change based on being masculine, feminine, or neuter.

So in this sentence:

• die beskadigde toerusting = the damaged equipment

There is no special gender marking on toerusting. Also, the article die is used for the regardless of gender.

Why is the verb dokumenteer not changed for she? In English we say she documents.