Ons neem ’n winkelmandjie, want ons wil seep en tandepasta koop.

we

Breakdown of Ons neem ’n winkelmandjie, want ons wil seep en tandepasta koop.

• en: and
• koop: to buy
• wil: to want

Questions & Answers about Ons neem ’n winkelmandjie, want ons wil seep en tandepasta koop.

What does ons mean, and is it always used for we?

Yes. Ons means we in subject position, as in Ons neem ... = We take ...

A useful extra point:

• In modern Afrikaans, ons is also commonly used for us in object position.
• So Afrikaans often uses ons where English distinguishes we and us.

Examples:

• Ons koop seep. = We buy soap.
• Hy sien ons. = He sees us.

Why is there ’n before winkelmandjie?

’n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a / an.

So:

• ’n winkelmandjie = a shopping basket

A few important things about ’n:

• It is written with an apostrophe-like mark: ’n
• It is not capitalized, even at the beginning of a sentence in normal writing style; instead, the next word is capitalized if needed
• In pronunciation, ’n is usually very weak, like a reduced vowel

Example:

• ’n Huis = a house
• ’n Winkelmandjie = a shopping basket