Breakdown of Ons oefen elke Woensdag op die hardloopbaan.
ons
we
op
on
oefen
to exercise
die hardloopbaan
the running track
elke Woensdag
every Wednesday
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Afrikaans grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ons oefen elke Woensdag op die hardloopbaan.
What does Ons mean in this sentence?
Here Ons is the subject pronoun meaning we. In Afrikaans you generally need the pronoun to show who is doing the action.
What tense is oefen, and what does it mean?
Oefen is the present-tense form of the verb oefen, which means to practice or to train. Afrikaans verbs don’t change form for person or number, so ek oefen, jy oefen, ons oefen, etc., all look the same.
Why do we say elke Woensdag and not elke Woensdae?
When you use elke (every), you always follow with the singular noun: elke week, elke dag, elke Woensdag. The plural Woensdae is used without elke, for example op Woensdae (on Wednesdays).
Can we say op Woensdag instead of just elke Woensdag?
You could say Ons oefen op Woensdae (we practice on Wednesdays) or even Ons oefen op Woensdag if you mean a specific Wednesday. But for every Wednesday you drop op and use the singular with elke.
Why is Woensdag capitalized here?
Days of the week are proper nouns in Afrikaans and always start with a capital letter, just like in English.
Why do we use op die hardloopbaan? Could we use a different preposition?
Op means on/at a surface or specific place. Since a running track is something you run on, you say op die hardloopbaan. You could use by for a more general “at the track,” but op is more precise here.
What is hardloopbaan, and how is it formed?
Hardloopbaan is a compound noun: hardloop (run/running) + baan (track, lane). Afrikaans often joins words directly to form compounds, without hyphens.
What is the usual word order in this sentence?
Afrikaans main clauses typically follow Subject–Verb–Time–Place order. Here it’s:
Subject (Ons)
Verb (oefen)
Time expression (elke Woensdag)
Place expression (op die hardloopbaan).