Die deeg is klewerig.

to be

Breakdown of Die deeg is klewerig.

• die deeg: dough
• klewerig: sticky

Questions & Answers about Die deeg is klewerig.

What does die mean in this sentence?

Here die means the.

In Afrikaans, die is the normal definite article for:

• singular nouns: die deeg = the dough
• plural nouns: die koeke = the cakes

Unlike German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the article for grammatical gender.

Why is the sentence order Die deeg is klewerig?

This is the normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans:

subject + verb + complement

So:

• Die deeg = subject
• is = verb
• klewerig = adjective/complement

It works just like English The dough is sticky.

Why is is used here?

Is is the Afrikaans present-tense form of to be.

So Die deeg is klewerig literally matches English:

• The dough = subject
• is = linking verb
• sticky = description

You use is when you are describing the state or quality of something.