Hy vra telkens.

Hy is the Afrikaans subject pronoun meaning he.

A few useful Afrikaans pronouns:

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

For an English speaker, hy may look unusual, but it is the normal Afrikaans form for he.

Vra means ask.

In Afrikaans, vra can be used in several closely related ways, just like ask in English:

• to ask a question
• to ask for something
• sometimes to request

In Hy vra telkens, it most naturally means he asks repeatedly / he keeps asking.

Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in the present tense. They usually do not change depending on the subject.

So you get:

• Ek vra = I ask
• Jy vra = you ask
• Hy vra = he asks
• Ons vra = we ask

Unlike English, there is no special -s ending for he/she/it in the present tense. That is why hy vra is correct, not a different form.

Telkens means repeatedly, again and again, or each time / whenever it happens depending on context.

In this sentence, it gives the idea that the action happens over and over:

• Hy vra telkens = He keeps asking / He asks repeatedly

It is an adverb, so it describes how often the asking happens.

Not exactly.

• altyd = always
• telkens = repeatedly / every time / again and again

So:

• Hy vra altyd would mean He always asks
• Hy vra telkens means He asks again and again or He keeps asking

Telkens focuses more on repeated occurrences, while altyd means something is true all the time or on every occasion.

Afrikaans, like English, does not always need to state the object if it is understood from context.

So Hy vra telkens is a complete sentence meaning roughly:

• He keeps asking
• He asks repeatedly

The thing he is asking about may be omitted because:

• it was already mentioned earlier
• it is obvious from context
• the speaker only wants to emphasize the repeated action

If you wanted to add an object, you could:

• Hy vra telkens dieselfde vraag. = He keeps asking the same question.
• Hy vra telkens vir hulp. = He keeps asking for help.

In a normal Afrikaans main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

So the structure here is:

• Hy = subject
• vra = verb
• telkens = adverb

This is very typical Afrikaans word order:

• Hy werk hard.
• Sy lees vinnig.
• Ons kom môre.

So Hy vra telkens follows the normal main-clause pattern.

Sometimes adverbs can move, but Hy vra telkens is the most straightforward and natural neutral order.

You may also see other word orders in broader contexts, especially for emphasis, but beginners should learn the standard pattern first:

• subject
• verb
• then adverbs and other information

So for simple use, Hy vra telkens is the form to remember.

A very natural translation would be:

• He keeps asking.
• He asks repeatedly.
• He asks again and again.

Which one sounds best depends on context. English often prefers keeps asking, while Afrikaans can express that repeated sense neatly with telkens.

Vra is pronounced roughly like fruh or vrah, depending on accent and how precisely you want to imitate Afrikaans pronunciation.

A few pronunciation tips:

• The v in Afrikaans is often pronounced somewhat like an English f.
• The r is usually trilled or tapped more than in most English accents.
• The a is a broad vowel, not like the ay in say.

So an English speaker may hear vra sounding closer to frah than to English vra with a strong English v.

Telkens is roughly TEL-kens.

Helpful notes:

• stress is on the first syllable: TEL
• the e in the first syllable is short, like in tell
• the second part sounds roughly like kens

An English-style approximation is:

• TEL-kens

It can do both, depending on context.

Hy vra telkens can mean:

• something happening right now in a repeated way: He keeps asking
• a habitual action: He repeatedly asks / He always asks again

Afrikaans present tense often covers both simple present and present progressive ideas that English distinguishes more sharply.

Yes. Hy vra telkens is a complete, natural sentence.

It has:

• a subject: Hy
• a finite verb: vra
• an adverb: telkens

Even though it is short, it is grammatically complete and fully acceptable in Afrikaans.