Ons lees tien boeke.

we

Breakdown of Ons lees tien boeke.

• lees: to read
• die boek: the book
• tien: ten

Questions & Answers about Ons lees tien boeke.

What does ons mean here?

Ons means we in this sentence.

A useful extra point: ons can also mean us in other sentences, depending on its role.

• Ons lees tien boeke. = We read ten books.
• Hy sien ons. = He sees us.

Here, because ons is the subject, it means we.

Why is the verb lees not changed for we?

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change according to the subject the way they do in English.

So you get:

• ek lees = I read
• jy lees = you read
• hy lees = he reads
• ons lees = we read

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not add an extra -s for he/she/it in the present tense.

Does lees mean read or are reading?