Ek sit tussen jou en my suster.

I

Breakdown of Ek sit tussen jou en my suster.

• my: my
• sit: to sit
• en: and

Questions & Answers about Ek sit tussen jou en my suster.

Why is the verb sit used here for both “sit” and “am sitting”? Does Afrikaans have a progressive tense?

Afrikaans uses the simple present (sit) for both the English simple and progressive aspects. So Ek sit can mean “I sit,” “I’m sitting,” or “I do sit.” There is no separate continuous form like is sitting. If you want to emphasize ongoing action, you can say Ek is besig om te sit, but that’s optional.

Why is jou used after tussen instead of jy?

After prepositions like tussen, Afrikaans takes the object form of the pronoun. The subject form is jy (“you”), but the object form is jou (“you” as object). So it’s tussen jou en my, not tussen jy en ek.

Why does my serve both as the object pronoun (“me”) and the possessive (“my”)?

In Afrikaans, my doubles as the first-person object pronoun (“to me,” “with me,” etc.) and the possessive adjective (“my book,” “my sister”). Context tells you which role it plays:

• tussen jou en my → “between you and me”
• my suster → “my sister”

Why isn’t there an apostrophe in my suster like in English “my sister’s”?