Ek lees ’n lang boek.

I read a long book.

Breakdown of Ek lees ’n lang boek.

• ek: I
• lees: to read
• die boek: the book
• ’n: a
• lang: long

Questions & Answers about Ek lees ’n lang boek.

What does ’n mean in Ek lees ’n lang boek?

’n is the indefinite article in Afrikaans, equivalent to English a or an. It does not change for gender or number and always appears with an apostrophe because it’s a contraction of een (“one”).

Why is there an apostrophe before the n in ’n?

The apostrophe shows that letters have been omitted. Historically, ’n comes from een (“one”). We drop the ee and replace it with an apostrophe, so you never write en on its own when you mean the article.

How do you pronounce ’n?

You pronounce ’n as a quick, unstressed schwa sound, roughly [ən]. It’s similar to the “a” in English about or sofa.

Why is lang placed before boek? Would ’n boek lang ever work?

In Afrikaans attributive position, the adjective comes immediately before the noun:

• Adjective + Noun: ’n lang boek
• (’n boek lang is incorrect.)

Unlike English you don’t separate them. The adjective also doesn’t agree with the noun when you have ’n, so there is no extra -e ending.

Why isn’t it ’n lange boek with an -e on lang?

Adjectives in Afrikaans normally take an -e ending when the noun phrase is definite (e.g., die lang boek) or in other specific contexts. However, when you have an indefinite article (’n), you leave the adjective in its base form:

• Indefinite: ’n lang boek
• Definite: die lang boek

Why is the simple present lees used for “I am reading” instead of a continuous form?

Afrikaans does not have a separate progressive tense. The simple present covers both:

• Habitual: Ek lees boeke elke dag. (“I read books every day.”)
• Ongoing: Ek lees ’n lang boek. (“I am reading a long book.”)

If you really want to stress the ongoing action, you can say:
Ek is besig om ’n lang boek te lees. (“I am busy reading a long book.”)

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

This is a standard S-V-O (Subject-Verb-Object) structure:

1. Subject: Ek (“I”)
2. Verb: lees (“read/ am reading”)
3. Object (with article and adjective): ’n lang boek (“a long book”)

If you turn it into a yes/no question, you invert V and S:
Lees ek ’n lang boek? (“Am I reading a long book?”)

How would you say “I read the long book” with the instead of a?

You replace the indefinite article ’n with the definite article die:

• Ek lees die lang boek.
(“I read the long book.” / “I am reading the long book.”)