Sy lees die versoek.

she

Breakdown of Sy lees die versoek.

• lees: to read
• die versoek: the request

Questions & Answers about Sy lees die versoek.

Why does sy mean she here? I thought sy could also mean his.

That is a very common question. Sy can mean either she or his, but the sentence structure tells you which one it is.

Here, Sy comes before the verb lees, so it is the subject pronoun and means she.

• Sy lees die versoek. = She reads the request.
• sy versoek would mean his request.

So in this sentence, Sy definitely means she.

Why is the verb lees the same for she? Shouldn’t it change like English read/reads?

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense. That is much simpler than English.

You say:

• Ek lees = I read
• Jy lees = you read
• Sy lees = she reads
• Ons lees = we read

So lees stays the same no matter who is doing the action.

What does die mean here?