Hou water gereed ingeval die watertenk leeg raak.

Keep water ready in case the water tank becomes empty.

Breakdown of Hou water gereed ingeval die watertenk leeg raak.

• die water: the water
• gereed: ready
• hou: to keep
• raak: to become

Questions & Answers about Hou water gereed ingeval die watertenk leeg raak.

Why does the sentence start with Hou and not with a subject like Jy hou?

Because this is a command or instruction. In Afrikaans, commands usually leave out the subject pronoun, just like English often does:

• Hou water gereed. = Keep water ready.
• Wag hier. = Wait here.
• Luister mooi. = Listen carefully.

If you added jy, it would usually sound more marked or emphatic rather than like a normal instruction.

What does hou mean here?

Here hou means keep.

So Hou water gereed means Keep water ready.

This is a very common use of hou in Afrikaans:

• Hou die deur oop. = Keep the door open.
• Hou dit veilig. = Keep it safe.
• Hou kos warm. = Keep food warm.

So hou + object + adjective/state is a useful pattern.

What is gereed doing in the sentence?