Die onderwyser lees nou die verslag.

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Breakdown of Die onderwyser lees nou die verslag.

• nou: now
• die onderwyser: the teacher
• die verslag: the report

Questions & Answers about Die onderwyser lees nou die verslag.

What does die mean in this sentence?

die is the definite article in Afrikaans, equivalent to English the.

Why is the verb lees not followed by -ing to mark the continuous?

In Afrikaans, the simple present tense covers both the English present simple and present continuous. So lees can mean “reads” or “is reading” depending on context. Here it means “is reading.”

Why does nou come after the verb lees and not at the beginning?

Afrikaans usually places time adverbs (like nou) immediately after the finite verb in a main clause: Subject + Verb + Time + Object. You could front nou for emphasis (“Nou lees die onderwyser die verslag”), but the default is after the verb.

Why does the object die verslag also have die?

Afrikaans marks definiteness with die before both subjects and objects. There is no case marking, so you use die for “the” in both positions.

What is the gender of onderwyser?

Afrikaans nouns have no grammatical gender. Onderwyser simply means “teacher” (male or female).