Ons hou die suurdeeg vars deur dit koud te hou.

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Breakdown of Ons hou die suurdeeg vars deur dit koud te hou.

• dit: it
• vars: fresh
• koud: cold

Questions & Answers about Ons hou die suurdeeg vars deur dit koud te hou.

Why is hou used twice in Ons hou die suurdeeg vars deur dit koud te hou?

Because the sentence has two linked actions:

• Ons hou die suurdeeg vars = We keep the sourdough fresh
• deur dit koud te hou = by keeping it cold

So the first hou is the main verb of the sentence, and the second hou is part of the infinitive phrase te hou (to keep).

Afrikaans often does this, just like English can do something similar:

• We keep it fresh by keeping it cold.

What does hou mean here? I thought it meant love or hold.

Hou can mean different things depending on context. Here it means keep.

Some common uses are:

• hou van = like / love
  • Ek hou van koffie. = I like coffee.
• hou = keep
  • Hou dit warm. = Keep it warm.
• sometimes it can also mean hold

In your sentence, hou ... vars clearly means keep ... fresh.

What does deur mean here? Doesn’t deur mean ?