ons
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔns/, [ɔ̃s]
Etymology 1
From Dutch ons, from Middle Dutch ons, from Old Dutch uns, from Proto-Germanic *uns, *unsiz.
See also
| subjective | objective | possessive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | 1st | ek | my | |||
| 2nd | jy | jou | ||||
| 2nd, formal | u | |||||
| 3rd, masc | hy | hom | sy | |||
| 3rd, fem | sy | haar | ||||
| 3rd, neut | dit | sy | ||||
| plural | 1st | ons | ||||
| 2nd | julle | julle / jul1 | ||||
| 3rd | hulle | hulle / hul1 | ||||
| 1. In the second and third persons plural, the usual possessive forms are julle and hulle (like the subjective and objective forms), but jul and hul are sometimes used instead when the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous. | ||||||
Etymology 2
From Dutch ons, inflected onze, from Middle Dutch onse, from Old Dutch *unsa, from Proto-Germanic *unseraz.
Alternative forms
- onse (archaic)
Determiner
ons
- our
- 1921, C.J. Langenhoven (lyrics), M.L. de Villiers (music), “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika”, South Africa:
- Ruis die stem van ons geliefde, van ons land Suid-Afrika.
- Rises the voice of our beloved, of our country South Africa.
-
See also
| subjective | objective | possessive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | 1st | ek | my | |||
| 2nd | jy | jou | ||||
| 2nd, formal | u | |||||
| 3rd, masc | hy | hom | sy | |||
| 3rd, fem | sy | haar | ||||
| 3rd, neut | dit | sy | ||||
| plural | 1st | ons | ||||
| 2nd | julle | julle / jul1 | ||||
| 3rd | hulle | hulle / hul1 | ||||
| 1. In the second and third persons plural, the usual possessive forms are julle and hulle (like the subjective and objective forms), but jul and hul are sometimes used instead when the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous. | ||||||
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔns/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔns
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch ons, from Old Dutch uns, from Proto-Germanic *uns, *unsiz.
Pronoun
ons (personal)
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch *unsa, from Proto-Germanic *unseraz.
Determiner
ons (dependent possessive, independent possessive onze, inflected form onze)
- our (neuter)
- Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood. ― Give us our daily bread
Inflection
| subject | object | possessive | reflexive | genitive5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | pred. | ||
| 1st person | ik | 'k1 | mij | me | mijn | m'n1 | mijne | me | mijner |
| 2nd person | jij | je | jou | je | jouw | je | jouwe | je | jouwer |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | zich | uwer |
| 3rd person masculine | hij | ie1 | hem | 'm1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner |
| 3rd person feminine | zij | ze | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | hare | zich | harer |
| 3rd person neuter | het | 't1 | het | 't1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner |
| plural | |||||||||
| 1st person | wij | we | ons | – | ons, onze2 | – | onze | ons | onzer |
| 2nd person | jullie | je | jullie | je | jullie | je | – | je | – |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | zich | uwer |
| 3rd person | zij | ze | hen3, hun4 | ze | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner |
| 1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as an adjective. 3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). |
5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singular gij, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. | ||||||||
Usage notes
Only used with singular neuter nouns in dependent clauses; onze is used in all other situations as an independent possessive as well as with male and female nouns.
Etymology 3
From Middle Dutch unce (1240), borrowed from Latin uncia (a twelfth of a pound) probably via Old French once. [1]
Usage notes
Prior to the law of 1820 that introduced the metric system in what then united both the Netherlands and Belgium a variety of measures ranging around ca 30 grams were known by this name. The law of 1820 attributed the name to the hectogram of 100 grams. In 1937 the IJkwet of the Netherlands officially abolished the term, but it is still commonly used.