Ons help die Afrikaner.

we

Breakdown of Ons help die Afrikaner.

• help: to help
• die Afrikaner: Afrikaner

Questions & Answers about Ons help die Afrikaner.

Why is it ons help and not a different verb form for we?

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form in the present tense the way they do in English.

So you get:

• ek help = I help
• jy help = you help
• hy/sy help = he/she helps
• ons help = we help
• hulle help = they help

So help stays help. This is one of the nice simplifications Afrikaans has compared with English.

What does ons mean here, and can it mean other things too?

Here, ons means we because it is the subject of the sentence.

Afrikaans ons can also be used in other roles:

• ons = we
• ons = us
• ons = our

Examples:

• Ons help. = We help.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.
• Ons huis is groot. = Our house is big.

In Ons help die Afrikaner, it clearly means we because it comes before the verb as the subject.

Why is die used here?