Ons beperk die skade.

We limit the damage.

Breakdown of Ons beperk die skade.

• ons: we
• die skade: the damage
• beperk: to limit; restrict

Questions & Answers about Ons beperk die skade.

What does ons mean here? Is it just we?

Yes. Ons means we in this sentence.

A useful extra point: in Afrikaans, ons can also mean us depending on the sentence.

• Ons beperk die skade. = We limit the damage.
• Hulle help ons. = They help us.

Afrikaans does not make the English-style distinction between we and us in form here.

What does die mean, and is it the same as English the?

Yes. Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so here it means the.

One very important thing for English speakers: die is usually pronounced like dee, not like the English verb die.

Also, Afrikaans uses die for both singular and plural nouns:

• die man = the man
• die mans = the men

So Afrikaans does not have separate forms like some other languages do for different genders or numbers.

Why is the verb beperk the same with ons? Shouldn’t it change like English I limit / he limits?