Ons begin die soektog nou.

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Breakdown of Ons begin die soektog nou.

• nou: now
• begin: to start
• die soektog: the search

Questions & Answers about Ons begin die soektog nou.

Why doesn’t begin change form for ons?

Afrikaans verbs in the present tense are not conjugated. They remain in the base form regardless of the subject. So you get ek begin, jy begin, ons begin, hulle begin, etc., all using begin without any added ending.

What part of speech is nou, and why is it placed at the end of the sentence?

nou is an adverb of time (meaning now). In the default Afrikaans word order (Subject–Verb–Object–Adverb), time adverbs often follow the object. Hence Ons begin die soektog nou. You can also say Ons begin nou die soektog, swapping nou and die soektog without breaking the rule that the finite verb stays second.

Why doesn’t the sentence use met after begin, as in English “to start with”?

In Afrikaans, begin can directly take a noun as its object: begin die soektog. Using met (e.g. begin met die soektog) is also possible, but when you’re directly initiating something, omitting met is more natural and idiomatic.

What is the function of die in die soektog?