Ek sit tussen jou en my suster.

I sit between you and my sister.

Breakdown of Ek sit tussen jou en my suster.

• ek: I
• my: my
• sit: to sit
• en: and
• die suster: the sister
• jou: you
• tussen: between

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”?

Afrikaans does not use an apostrophe to form possessives. You simply place the possessive adjective (here my) before the noun (suster). Apostrophes are reserved for contractions (e.g. ’n = een) or to show omitted letters, not for possession.

Can I swap the order and say Ek sit tussen my suster en jou?

Yes. The meaning stays the same: “I sit between my sister and you.” Both tussen jou en my suster and tussen my suster en jou are perfectly correct. Just be mindful of your emphasis or style.

Do I have to include Ek at the start, or can I drop it like some Romance or Slavic languages do?

Afrikaans is not a pro-drop language. You normally need a subject pronoun in independent clauses. So you must say Ek sit…, not just Sit tussen jou en my suster (unless it’s an imperative or very colloquial fragment).

How is tussen pronounced, and where’s the stress?

Tussen is pronounced roughly as TUS-sən, with the stress on the first syllable: TUS-sen. The “u” sounds like the “u” in “put,” and the final “-en” is a schwa (ə).

Does tussen always require exactly two objects, or can it take just one noun?

You can use tussen with any number of nouns or noun phrases. For example:

• tussen die bome (“between the trees”)
• tussen jou, my suster en haar hond (“between you, my sister, and her dog”)
  It doesn’t mandate two items—it simply means “between” whatever follows.

Is there a contraction or shorter colloquial form for tussen jou en my?

In fast or informal speech, you might hear people blend words or drop the schwa: tuss’n jou en my. But in writing or standard speech you should use the full tussen.