Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

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Breakdown of Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

• nodig hê: will need
• meer: more
• die ruimte: the space or room

Questions & Answers about Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

Why is het used here if the sentence means We need more space?

In Afrikaans, need is often expressed with the pattern iets nodig hê, literally to have something necessary/needed.

So:

• Ons het ... nodig = We need ...
• literally: We have ... needed

This is a very common Afrikaans structure.

Examples:

• Ek het hulp nodig. = I need help.
• Sy het water nodig. = She needs water.
• Ons het meer ruimte nodig. = We need more space.

So het is not translating English have directly here in the usual possession sense; it is part of the Afrikaans way of saying need.

Why is nodig at the end of the sentence?

With the expression nodig hê, the word nodig usually comes after the thing that is needed.

So the pattern is:

• subject + hê/het + thing needed + nodig

In your sentence:

• Ons = subject
• het = have
• meer ruimte = the thing needed
• nodig = needed / necessary

That gives:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

This word order is very normal in Afrikaans.