Die baas lees nou die nuwe verslag.

The boss reads the new report now.

Breakdown of Die baas lees nou die nuwe verslag.

• lees: to read
• nou: now
• die: the
• nuut: new
• die verslag: the report
• die baas: the boss

Questions & Answers about Die baas lees nou die nuwe verslag.

Why is die baas lees nou die nuwe verslag translated as “The boss reads the new report” and not “The boss is reading the new report”?

Afrikaans normally uses the simple present tense (reads) with a time adverb (nou = now) to express ongoing actions. The presence of nou makes it clear the action is happening at this moment. If you want an explicit continuous form, you can say:
Die baas is nou besig om die nuwe verslag te lees.

What does the article die do, and why does it appear twice?

Afrikaans has only one definite article, die, for all genders and numbers. It corresponds to English “the.” You use die before any noun you want to make definite. Here it marks both baas (boss) and verslag (report) as “the boss” and “the report.”

Why does nuwe end in -e?

When an adjective directly precedes a definite noun (one marked by die, a demonstrative, possessive, etc.), it takes an ‑e ending. Hence die nuwe verslag (“the new report”). Without the article (in some special indefinite constructions) the adjective might not take ‑e, but with die it always does.

Why is the adverb nou placed between the verb and the object?

Afrikaans follows a Subject-Verb-(Time-Manner-Place)-Object pattern for adverb placement. Time adverbs like nou generally come after the finite verb and before the object, so you get:
Subject (Die baas) + Verb (lees) + Time (nou) + Object (die nuwe verslag).

Can I start the sentence with nou instead? What changes?

Yes. If you put nou first for emphasis, you must follow the V2 rule (finite verb in second position). So:
Nou lees die baas die nuwe verslag.
Here lees moves behind nou, but the overall meaning remains “Now the boss is reading the new report.”

How would I turn it into a yes/no question?

Swap the finite verb and the subject. You don’t need an extra word like “do” in English. It becomes:
Lees die baas nou die nuwe verslag?
Literally “Reads the boss now the new report?” = “Is the boss reading the new report now?”

Why don’t we see a pronoun like hy (he)? Can I add it?

Afrikaans allows you to omit subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context. If you want to be explicit, you can add hy:
Hy lees nou die nuwe verslag.
That simply clarifies that “he” (the boss) is doing the reading.

How do you pronounce baas, nou, and verslag?

Approximate pronunciations in IPA:
• baas /baːs/ (long “aa”)
• nou /nau̯/ (diphthong like English “now”)
• verslag /fərˈslɑχ/ (initial v as /f/, hard guttural g at the end)