Ek lees die e-pos.

I read the email.

Breakdown of Ek lees die e-pos.

• ek: I
• lees: to read
• die: the
• die e-pos: the email

Questions & Answers about Ek lees die e-pos.

What does ek mean, and must I always include it?

ek means I. Afrikaans is not a pro-drop language, so you almost always include the subject pronoun even when context makes it clear.

Why is lees the same for I, you, and he/she?

In Afrikaans present tense, verbs do not conjugate for person or number. You use the base form for all subjects.

Does Ek lees die e-pos mean I read or I am reading?

Afrikaans uses a single simple present tense for both habitual and ongoing actions. Add context or adverbs (e.g. nou = now) to show continuous aspect:
Ek lees nou die e-pos.

What is die, and does Afrikaans have different forms of the for gender or number?

die is the definite article (= the) used for singular and plural, with no gender distinctions.
Examples: die boek, die boeke; die man, die manne.

How do I say I’m reading an email rather than I’m reading the email?

Use the indefinite article 'n (pronounced /ən/):
Ek lees 'n e-pos.

Why is e-pos hyphenated, and how do I pronounce it?

It’s a compound of e (= electronic) + pos (= mail). The hyphen shows the parts.
Pronunciation: e as /iː/ + pos as /pɔs/ → /ˈiː.pɔs/.

How do I make this sentence negative?

Afrikaans uses double negation: insert nie after the verb phrase and again at the end.
Ek lees nie die e-pos nie.

How do I ask Am I reading the email? in Afrikaans?

Invert verb and subject for a yes/no question:
Lees ek die e-pos?
For emphasis on ongoing action, you can also say:
Is ek besig om die e-pos te lees?

How do I say I read the email in the past tense?

Use het + past participle. The past participle of lees is gelees:
Ek het die e-pos gelees.

Do I always capitalize ek?

Afrikaans capitalizes only sentence initials and proper nouns. So at the start you write Ek, but later in a sentence it’s lowercase ek, unlike English I.