Ons speel buite in die somer.

We play outside in the summer.

Breakdown of Ons speel buite in die somer.

• ons: we
• die: the
• in: in
• speel: to play
• buite: outside
• die somer: the summer

Questions & Answers about Ons speel buite in die somer.

What does Ons mean, and why is it capitalized here?

• Ons means we (first-person plural subject pronoun).
• It’s capitalized only because it’s the first word of the sentence. In Afrikaans you only capitalize the first word of a sentence and proper names.

Why doesn’t the verb speel change form for different subjects, like it does in English?

Afrikaans has an uninflected present tense. That means the verb stays the same for all persons and numbers:

• Ek speel (I play)
• Jy speel (You play)
• Hy/sy speel (He/she plays)
• Ons speel (We play)
• Hulle speel (They play)

What part of speech is buite, and how is it used here?

• buite is an adverb of place meaning outside.
• It tells us where the action happens: “play outside.”
• When buite takes an object (e.g. buite die hek = outside the gate), it functions like a preposition.

How do you pronounce Ons speel buite in die somer? Are there any tricky sounds?

• Ons – /ons/ (like “once” without the w).
• speel – /s'peːl/ (long ee = /eː/).
• buite – /ˈbœy.tə/ (ui = diphthong /œy/).
• in die – /in di/ (“die” is /di/).
• somer – /ˈso.mər/ (short o, schwa on the second syllable).
  Primary stress falls on the first syllable of speel, buite, somer.

Why is it in die somer and not just in somer or in ’n somer?

• General statements about seasons require the definite article: in die somer, in die winter, in die herfs.
• in somer (no article) is incorrect for habitual actions.
• in ’n somer (“in a summer”) is grammatically possible but refers to one unspecified summer, not the season as a concept.

What’s the difference between somer (one m) and sommer (two m)?

• somer (one m) = summer (the season).
• sommer (two m) = just or simply (an adverb), e.g. “Doen dit sommer.” = “Just do it.”
  They look/sound almost the same, but spelling and meaning differ.

Why does the sentence put buite (place) before in die somer (time)? Can I switch them?

• Standard adverbial order in Afrikaans is place before time:
  Ons speel buite (place) in die somer (time).
• You can front the time for emphasis, but then you must use verb-second word order:
  In die somer speel ons buite.
• Saying Ons speel in die somer buite feels awkward; place generally precedes time.

How do I turn this into a question—both yes/no and a “where”-question?

• Yes/No question: invert verb and subject:
  Speel ons buite in die somer?
• “Where”-question: start with Waar then keep verb-second:
  Waar speel ons in die somer?

How would I say “We played outside in the summer” (past tense)?

Use the perfect tense with het + past participle:
Ons het in die somer buite gespeel.
You can swap buite and in die somer if you like, but het always follows the subject.