Ek is besig om my ou broek uit te trek en ’n skoon broek aan te trek.

Is besig om ... te ... is a very common Afrikaans way to show that an action is in progress right now.

So Ek is besig om my ou broek uit te trek en ’n skoon broek aan te trek means something like:

I am in the middle of taking off my old trousers and putting on a clean pair.

It often works like English am/is/are doing.

Yes. Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English would prefer a continuous form.

So you could also say:

Ek trek my ou broek uit en ’n skoon broek aan.

That can still mean I’m taking off my old trousers and putting on a clean pair, depending on context.

Using is besig om makes the ongoing action more explicit, a bit like stressing right now or currently.

In this structure, om ... te introduces an infinitive phrase.

A useful pattern is:

besig om + infinitive phrase with te

So:

• Ek is besig om te lees = I am busy reading
• Ek is besig om te werk = I am busy working

In your sentence, the infinitive parts are longer because they include objects and separable verb particles:

• my ou broek uit te trek
• ’n skoon broek aan te trek

So om helps introduce the infinitive clause, and te marks the infinitive itself.

Because there are two coordinated infinitive phrases:

• my ou broek uit te trek
• ’n skoon broek aan te trek

Each infinitive phrase needs its own te, so both verbs get it.

But the two phrases are both governed by the same om, so Afrikaans does not need to repeat om before the second one.

Think of it as:

I am busy [to take off my old trousers] and [to put on a clean pair].

One introducer, two infinitives.

They are separable verbs built from trek.

• uittrek = take off, undress, remove clothing
• aantrek = put on, get dressed in, wear

Here:

• my ou broek uit te trek = to take off my old trousers
• ’n skoon broek aan te trek = to put on a clean pair of trousers

These are very common clothing verbs in Afrikaans.

Because uittrek and aantrek are separable verbs.

When te is used with a separable verb in Afrikaans, the prefix/particle stays separate and comes before te, while the main verb stays after it:

• uittrek → uit te trek
• aantrek → aan te trek

This is a standard Afrikaans pattern.

So not:

• te uittrek
• te aantrek

but:

• uit te trek
• aan te trek

Afrikaans usually puts the object before the infinitive verb group in this kind of clause.

So the order is:

object + particle + te + verb

That gives:

• my ou broek uit te trek
• ’n skoon broek aan te trek

This may feel unusual to an English speaker, but it is normal Afrikaans word order in subordinate or infinitive structures.

Because the first pair of trousers is specific and already identified as my trousers, while the second is introduced as just a clean pair of trousers.

So:

• my ou broek = my old trousers
• ’n skoon broek = a clean pair of trousers

If the speaker wanted to refer to a specific clean pair already known in context, they could say something like my skoon broek instead.

Here ou means old in the ordinary sense: not new, the one already being worn, or a worn/older pair.

It does not mean elderly here.

So my ou broek simply means my old trousers.

In Afrikaans, broek is normally a singular noun for one item of trousers/pants.

So:

• ’n broek = a pair of trousers / pants
• broeke = trousers/pants in the plural, meaning multiple pairs

This is one of those places where Afrikaans and English divide reality differently. English often uses a plural form for one garment; Afrikaans usually does not.

’n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• ’n skoon broek = a clean pair of trousers

It is usually pronounced as a very weak neutral vowel, like uh or schwa.

A few useful things to remember:

• it is always written ’n
• it is normally not stressed
• even at the start of a sentence, the n itself stays lowercase

So if a sentence begins with it, the next word is capitalized, not the n.

Yes. Trek often has the basic meaning pull or draw, and from that it also gets used in clothing expressions.

So:

• aantrek is literally something like pull on
• uittrek is literally something like pull off / pull out

That is why trek appears in common verbs about putting clothes on and taking them off.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

The is besig om ... te ... structure sounds clear and standard, especially when you want to emphasize that the action is happening at the moment.

In more casual speech, people might also shorten it to the simple present:

Ek trek my ou broek uit en ’n skoon broek aan.

Both are natural; the version with is besig om just highlights the ongoing action more clearly.