Ek sit teen die muur.

I sit against the wall.

Breakdown of Ek sit teen die muur.

• ek: I
• sit: to sit
• teen: against
• die muur: the wall

Questions & Answers about Ek sit teen die muur.

What does Ek mean and how is it used?

Ek is the first person singular subject pronoun I. It always goes before the verb in Afrikaans main clauses, giving you the basic subject-verb-object order.

Is sit an infinitive, a present tense form, or both?

In Afrikaans the bare verb form doubles as both the infinitive and the present-tense form. So sit means to sit (infinitive) and also sit/sits/am sitting/are sitting/is sitting in the present.

Why does sit look the same for Ek, jy, and hy? There’s no –s or –ed ending?

Afrikaans verbs are not inflected for person or number in the present tense. Whether it’s ek sit, jy sit, ons sit or hulle sit, the verb stays sit.

What exactly does teen mean in this sentence? Could I say by instead?

Here teen means against or leaning on, implying physical contact with the wall. by would simply mean near or beside, without the idea of contact. To express sit with your back against the wall, teen is the right choice.