Ons sit buite by sonsondergang en drink tee.

We sit outside at sunset and drink tea.

Breakdown of Ons sit buite by sonsondergang en drink tee.

• drink: to drink
• ons: we
• sit: to sit
• en: and

Questions & Answers about Ons sit buite by sonsondergang en drink tee.

Why is there no article before sonsondergang?

In Afrikaans, fixed time expressions with by + time often drop the article. So by sonsondergang literally means “at sunset” without needing die. You could say by die sonsondergang, but it sounds less natural in everyday speech.

What word‐order rule places sit before buite?

Afrikaans main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must be the second element. Here ons (subject) is first, sit (finite verb) second, then adverbials like buite (outside).

Why isn’t the subject ons repeated before drink?

When two actions share the same subject and are joined by a coordinating conjunction like en, you drop the repeated subject. So instead of Ons sit … en ons drink …, you simply say Ons sit … en drink ….

Why doesn't drink invert after the conjunction en?

Coordinating conjunctions (en, maar, of) don’t trigger inversion in Afrikaans. The clause after en continues the sentence’s flow, so drink stays where it would normally be in a non-inverted clause.