Breakdown of Ek verstaan nou die oefening.
ek
I
nou
now
die
the
verstaan
to understand
die oefening
the exercise
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Questions & Answers about Ek verstaan nou die oefening.
What does Ek mean?
Ek translates to I in English and is the first-person singular subject pronoun in Afrikaans.
What part of speech is verstaan, and how does it translate?
Verstaan is the infinitive form of a verb meaning to understand (it can also mean to hear in some contexts). For present-tense statements you always use the base form.
Why isn’t verstaan conjugated for I, like we do in English?
Afrikaans verbs don’t change form for person or number. Whether the subject is ek, jy, hulle, etc., you always use the infinitive stem (here verstaan) in the present tense.
What is the role of nou in this sentence?
Nou means now. It’s an adverb indicating that the understanding is happening at this moment or has just occurred.
Why is nou placed between the verb and the object instead of at the end?
The typical word order in a simple Afrikaans statement is Subject – Verb – Adverb – Object (S V Adv O). That’s why nou (the adverb) comes after verstaan (the verb) and before die oefening (the object).
What does die signify here?
Die is the definite article the. Afrikaans only has one form of the definite article, and it doesn’t change for gender or number.
How do you pronounce oefening, and what does it mean?
Oefening means exercise (as in a practice exercise). Pronunciation: OO-fuh-ning (with oe as in “food”).
How would you make this sentence negative: “I don’t understand the exercise now”?
You add nie at the end of the clause:
Ek verstaan nou die oefening nie.
How would you ask “Do you understand the exercise now?” in Afrikaans?
Invert the verb and subject for a yes/no question:
Verstaan jy nou die oefening?