Ons meet die rakplank.

we

Breakdown of Ons meet die rakplank.

• meet: to measure
• die rakplank: shelf board

Questions & Answers about Ons meet die rakplank.

What does ons mean here?

Ons means we.

It is the subject of the sentence, so Ons meet die rakplank follows the basic pattern:

subject + verb + object

• Ons = we
• meet = measure
• die rakplank = the shelf board / shelf

Afrikaans ons is also the normal word for us in many contexts, so learners often notice that it can cover both we and us depending on the sentence.

Does meet really mean measure? It looks exactly like English meet.

Yes. In Afrikaans, meet means measure.

This is a classic false friend for English speakers, because English meet usually means come together or be introduced to someone. Afrikaans meet does not normally mean that.

So in this sentence, Ons meet die rakplank means that we are measuring the shelf/shelf board, not that we are meeting it.

Why doesn’t the verb change with ons? Why not something like meeten or meets?