Ons lees die vertaling.

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

A useful thing to know is that ons can also mean our in other sentences, for example:

• ons boek = our book

So learners often have to use the position in the sentence to understand it. Before the verb, as in Ons lees, it is clearly we.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek lees = I read / I am reading
• Jy lees = you read / are reading
• Hy lees = he reads / is reading
• Ons lees = we read / are reading

This is much simpler than English, where you have I read but he reads.

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

In die vertaling, it means the translation.

One important difference from English is that Afrikaans uses die for all definite nouns, regardless of gender, and also for both singular and plural in many cases.

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not have to learn different forms of the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Modern Afrikaans has mostly lost grammatical gender. That is why the article system is much simpler than in many other European languages.

So in this sentence, die is not telling you anything about masculine, feminine, or neuter gender. It is simply the normal word for the.

Yes. Vertaling is a noun meaning translation, and it is related to the verb vertaal, which means to translate.

A very common pattern in Afrikaans is:

• verb + -ing → noun

So:

• vertaal = translate
• vertaling = translation

That is similar to English patterns like translate and translation, even though the ending is different.

Yes. In this simple main clause, the word order is:

• Ons = subject
• lees = verb
• die vertaling = object

So it follows the familiar subject–verb–object pattern:

• We read the translation

That said, Afrikaans also has a strong verb-second rule in main clauses. For example:

• Vandag lees ons die vertaling. = Today we read / are reading the translation.

Here the verb lees still comes early in the sentence.

It can mean either one, depending on context.

The simple present in Afrikaans often covers both:

• We read the translation
• We are reading the translation

If you want to emphasize an ongoing action, Afrikaans can use another structure, for example:

• Ons is besig om die vertaling te lees. = We are busy reading the translation.

But in everyday usage, Ons lees die vertaling is often enough.

Because the sentence uses die vertaling, which means the translation, not a translation.

If you wanted to say a translation, Afrikaans would usually use ’n:

• Ons lees ’n vertaling. = We read / are reading a translation.

So the sentence is definite, not indefinite.

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

• Lees ons die vertaling? = Are we reading the translation? / Do we read the translation?

So the statement:

• Ons lees die vertaling.

becomes the question:

• Lees ons die vertaling?

Afrikaans typically uses a double nie structure in standard negation.

So:

• Ons lees die vertaling. = We read / are reading the translation.

becomes:

• Ons lees nie die vertaling nie. = We do not read / are not reading the translation.

This is one of the most important grammar patterns in Afrikaans.