Ons moet die brief môre in die posbus sit.

We must put the letter in the mailbox tomorrow.

Breakdown of Ons moet die brief môre in die posbus sit.

• ons: we
• die: the
• in: in
• môre: tomorrow

Questions & Answers about Ons moet die brief môre in die posbus sit.

What does moet mean here?

Moet expresses obligation or necessity. In this sentence, it means something like must, have to, or need to.

So Ons moet ... means We must ... / We have to ...

In everyday English, have to is often the most natural translation, even though must is also correct.

Why is sit at the end of the sentence?

This is a very common Afrikaans pattern.

When you use a modal verb like moet, kan, wil, or sal, the modal verb is the finite verb and comes early in the clause, while the main verb goes to the end in its basic form.

So:

• Ons moet = We must
• ... sit = put

That is why you get:

Ons moet die brief môre in die posbus sit.

This is similar to Dutch and German-style word order.

Why is there no word meaning to before sit?