Questions & Answers about Ons vertrou onsself.
In the present tense Afrikaans verbs don’t change for different persons. You remove -n from the infinitive and use that stem for all subjects. So:
• Ek vertrou
• Jy vertrou
• Ons vertrou
They’re all identical in the present.
• vertrou (no preposition) means “to trust” (someone or something).
Example: Ek vertrou hom – “I trust him.”
• vertrou op means “to rely on” or “depend on.” It’s a separable verb: the op can move to the end.
Example: Ons vertrou op onsself – “We rely on ourselves.”
Afrikaans follows a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order. Reflexive pronouns act like direct objects, so they follow the verb:
Subject (Ons) → Verb (vertrou) → Object (onsself).
• vertrou is pronounced [fɛrˈtruː], with a soft v (like f) and rolled or tapped r.
• onsself is [ˈɔn.sɛlf], with a clear o as in “on” and a sharp s before elf.
Yes. The reflexive pronoun stays the same; only the verb changes. For example:
• Past: Ons het onsself vertrou. – “We trusted ourselves.”
• Future: Ons sal onsself vertrou. – “We will trust ourselves.”