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Learn Hardcore Afrikaans: Ons respekteer sy standpunt. - We respect his viewpoint.

Hardcore Afrikaans
/Trying indoor climbing with friends
/Ons respekteer sy standpunt.

Ons respekteer sy standpunt.

Word

Ons respekteer sy standpunt.

Meaning

We respect his viewpoint.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Afrikaans

Lesson

Trying indoor climbing with friends

Breakdown of Ons respekteer sy standpunt.

viewpoint; position

Questions & Answers about Ons respekteer sy standpunt.

What does ons mean here?

Here, ons means we because it is the subject of the sentence: Ons respekteer ... = We respect ...

In other sentences, ons can also mean us, but not in this position.

Why is the verb respekteer not changed for we?

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change much according to the subject.

So you get:

Ek respekteer = I respect
Ons respekteer = we respect
Hulle respekteer = they respect

That is much simpler than English, where verbs can change a little, as in I respect but he respects.

Is respekteer basically the same word as English respect?

Yes. Respekteer is clearly related to English respect. Many Afrikaans words will look familiar to an English speaker, especially words like this that have Latin/French/Germanic relatives.

So if you see respekteer, it is easy to connect it with respect.

What does sy mean here?

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In this sentence, sy means his:

sy standpunt = his point of view / his standpoint

A very important thing to notice is that sy can also be the subject pronoun she in other sentences.

For example:

Sy respekteer ons. = She respects us.

So context and sentence position matter. Here, because sy comes directly before the noun standpunt, it is a possessive word meaning his.

Could sy mean her here?

Normally, no. Her is usually haar in Afrikaans.

So:

sy standpunt = his point of view
haar standpunt = her point of view

That makes this sentence specifically about his standpoint, not her standpoint.

Why is there no article before standpunt?

Because sy already functions as a possessive determiner, like his in English.

Just as English says:

his point of view

and not

the his point of view

Afrikaans says:

sy standpunt

and not

die sy standpunt

So the possessive word replaces the article.

What exactly does standpunt mean?

Standpunt literally means something like standpoint. In natural English, it can be translated as:

point of view
viewpoint
position
stance

It is a compound noun:

stand = stand
punt = point

Afrikaans uses compound nouns very often, just like Dutch and German.

Is the word order the same as in English here?

Yes. This is a very straightforward main clause with normal subject–verb–object order:

Ons = subject
respekteer = verb
sy standpunt = object

So it matches English quite closely:

We respect his point of view

Does this only mean we respect, or could it also mean we are respecting?

In most cases, the Afrikaans present tense can cover both ideas, depending on context.

So Ons respekteer sy standpunt can mean:

We respect his point of view
or, in the right context, We are respecting his point of view

Usually the simple English translation We respect his point of view is the best one.

Is standpunt singular or plural?

It is singular: standpunt = point of view / standpoint

If you wanted the plural, it would be standpunte:

Ons respekteer sy standpunte. = We respect his viewpoints.

So in your sentence, only one standpoint or position is being referred to.

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