Ons merk elke kartondoos.

In Afrikaans, ons means we/us and is the normal subject form for we.

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not use separate forms like we and us in the same way. So:

• Ons merk ... = We mark ...
• Hy sien ons = He sees us

So ons is the correct word here for we.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject. That is much simpler than English.

So you get:

• Ek merk = I mark
• Jy merk = you mark
• Ons merk = we mark
• Hulle merk = they mark

The verb stays merk in all these examples. Afrikaans generally does not add endings like English -s in he marks.

Merk is the verb to mark. Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• to mark
• to label
• to tag
• to identify with a mark

In a sentence about boxes, it could mean physically marking them, writing on them, or labeling them.

After elke (each/every), Afrikaans normally uses a singular noun, just as English does with each and often with every.

So:

• elke kartondoos = each/every cardboard box

Not:

• elke kartondose

That would sound wrong, because elke points to items one by one.

Elke can often be translated as each or every, depending on context.

In many sentences, English could use either one:

• Ons merk elke kartondoos.
• We mark each cardboard box.
• We mark every cardboard box.

So elke covers both ideas. The best English choice depends on how natural the sentence sounds in context.

Because elke already acts as the determiner here.

In English, you also say:

• every box
• each box

not:

• every the box
• each a box

The same idea applies in Afrikaans. Since elke is already there, you do not add 'n (a) or die (the).

Yes. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So kartondoos is made from:

• karton = cardboard
• doos = box

Together:

• kartondoos = cardboard box

This is very common in Afrikaans, much like in Dutch and German. English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans usually combines them.

The plural is kartondose.

So:

• kartondoos = cardboard box
• kartondose = cardboard boxes

Notice that doos becomes dose in the plural.

Example:

• Ons merk die kartondose. = We mark the cardboard boxes.

This is a basic Afrikaans main clause with the usual Subject – Verb – Object order:

• Ons = subject
• merk = verb
• elke kartondoos = object

So:

• Ons merk elke kartondoos.

This is the same basic order as in English:

• We mark every cardboard box.

In a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Merk ons elke kartondoos?

That means:

• Do we mark every cardboard box?

So the statement:

• Ons merk elke kartondoos.

becomes the question:

• Merk ons elke kartondoos?

A helpful rough guide is:

• kar-ton-doos

A few pronunciation notes:

• karton sounds roughly like kar-TOHN
• doos has a long oo sound, somewhat like doos with a long vowel

If you say it smoothly as one compound word, it becomes:

• kar-ton-doos

The stress is often strongest earlier in the word, but learners are usually understood as long as the vowels are reasonably clear.

In this sentence, merk is clearly a verb because it comes after the subject ons and functions as the action.

Afrikaans does also have merk as a noun in some contexts, where it can mean brand or mark, but here it is definitely the verb:

• Ons merk ... = We mark ...

So in this sentence, read it as an action word.