Questions & Answers about Ek sien 'n nes bo in die boom.
What does 'n mean, and how do I pronounce it?
'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.
So:
- 'n nes = a nest
A few important points:
- It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
- It is normally not stressed
- In speech, it sounds like a very weak uh sound, similar to the unstressed vowel in English about
Also, when a sentence starts with 'n, Afrikaans usually keeps the article lowercase and capitalizes the following word instead, for example:
- 'n Nes is in die boom.
That looks unusual to English speakers, but it is standard in Afrikaans.
Why is it Ek sien and not something like Ek siens or I sees?
Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs. In the present tense, the verb usually does not change depending on the subject.
So:
- Ek sien = I see
- Jy sien = you see
- Hy sien = he sees
- Ons sien = we see
The verb stays sien in all these cases.
That is why Afrikaans does not add an -s for he/she/it the way English does.