Ons help mekaar in die tuin.

We help each other in the garden.

Breakdown of Ons help mekaar in die tuin.

• ons: we
• in: in
• help: to help
• die tuin: the garden

Questions & Answers about Ons help mekaar in die tuin.

What does Ons mean in this sentence?

Ons is the first-person plural pronoun in Afrikaans; it translates to we in English.

How is the verb help used here? Shouldn’t there be a different ending for “we”?

In present-tense Afrikaans, most verbs stay in their basic (root) form for all persons and numbers. So for ons (we), you simply use help, not helpen or helpen.

What exactly is mekaar?

Mekaar is the reciprocal pronoun meaning each other or one another. It shows that the action goes both ways: we help one another.

Why is mekaar placed after the verb rather than before it?

Afrikaans generally follows Subject–Verb–Object order. Here, ons is the subject, help the verb, and mekaar the object (reciprocal pronoun). So you say Ons help mekaar, not Ons mekaar help.

Could I say Ons help elkander instead of Ons help mekaar?