Afrikaans

Main Contents

Introduction
Pronunciation
Lessons
Appendix
- External Links
- Newspapers in Afrikaans
Contributors
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Introduction

This page has 2 sentences and 6 words for you to learn

The youngest Germanic language

The name "Afrikaans" means literally "African". Afrikaans has its roots in 17th-century Dutch, but has since developed its own distinctive character and flavour in the three centuries that it developed mostly in South Africa and in parts of Namibia. Being a Germanic language, it is closely related to Dutch, English and to a lesser extent German. Compare the following:

English: I eat an apple.
Afrikaans: Ek eet 'n appel.
Dutch: Ik eet een appel.
German: Ich esse einen Apfel.

English has many more words of a Latin or French origin than Afrikaans, but a more archaic word can often show the similarities between the two languages.

English: hound, fowl, house, milk
Afrikaans: hond, voël, huis, melk

Most interestingly, consider these two sentences:

My hand is in warm water.
My pen is in my hand.

These two sentences can be either English or Afrikaans, and both have exactly the same meaning in both languages. But despite this, Afrikaans has significant differences from English. It might not be as easy to learn for an English speaker as, say, Esperanto, but it is still considered a relatively easy language to learn, and is advocated by some as a good introduction to learning Dutch and other Germanic languages in general.

Can Afrikaans people and Dutch people understand each other?

Afrikaans and Dutch are very closely related and are more or less mutually understandable. More about that here. Dutch's grammar is a bit more complex than Afrikaans', but they share a lot of the same vocabulary, albeit with slightly different spellings and pronunciations. Comparing Afrikaans and Dutch is somewhat like comparing Norwegian Bokmål and Danish.

It is a commonly held belief that Afrikaans people tend to understand Dutch quite well, and Dutch people generally need more time to understand Afrikaans. The truth of this claim may vary from individual to individual. Some Afrikaans people claim to understand written Dutch better than spoken Dutch.

Language of the oppressor?

Afrikaans is seen by some in a negative light because it was the language promoted by the apartheid regime. Some even claim that it should be forgotten. We acknowledge the terrible atrocities of that regime but still regard Afrikaans language and culture as beautiful and worthy of preservation. However, with regard to the sentiment of preservation of the language and culture, there remains an underlying tone of segregation as illustrated by the special interest groups: Afriforum; Solidariteit and the AfrikanerBond amongst others. The underlying segregationist sentiments of Afrikaner language and cultural proponents are along the lines of Hendrik Verwoerd's assertion of Apartheid as: 'Good Neighbourliness', which can be seen in the fact of the majority of Afrikaans Speakers being what, in South Africa, are called 'Coloured' people who are then represented as a minority in Afrikaans institutions and media such as the television channel KYKNET, radio RSG and newspapers like BEELD, Volksblad and magazines HUISGENOOT and ROOIROSE. What one sees then is that there is a concerted, if not wholly deliberate effort to present Afrikaans as the language of the majority of White South Africans in the same way that it had been prioritised in the 20th Century to aid the White Afrikaner Nationalism of the National Party; in its infancy in the 1910s to its introduction and preservation of Apartheid from 1948 until the introduction of the 1996 South African Constitution with its ideal of the equality of all languages.

Besides, more than half of the speakers of the language are not white and were victims of the regime's many manipulations, including ripping apart families and forcefully moving whole communities. As has been stated in the preceding paragraph, the complexity of understanding Afrikaans social presence in South Africa is dependent upon understanding what the language has been and what the attempts at it's rehabilitation are; while there remains an element of Afrikaner society that looks upon the history of Afrikaner people and the attending atrocities as something to look back upon, fondly, it is this aspect of the culture and the people that undercuts whatever is being done to disillusion afrikaans-speakers of claims of its superiority and importance over other South African languages if not English itself.

Additonally, some of the first literary works in Afrikaans were translations of holy Islamic texts by Abu Bakr Effendi that were used by the Muslim Cape slave population. Hence, the language can be equally be described as the language of the oppressed. Indeed, while there may be those who delude themselves in thinking that Afrikaans is the 'language of the oppressed', one cannot simply ignore the social environment in which 'the oppressed' came to speak Afrikaans in the first place as slaves who tried to manoeuvre their way across the Dutch language of their Slave masters. Afrikaans, then comes to be used as a way to distinguish those who created an identity out of propagating slavery and anti-equality in the Cape and further oppression down the centuries. How Afrikaans comes to be a Language in 21st Century South Africa is a fraught 200+ years history

Trivia

Several English words, such as "commando" and "aardvark", are of Afrikaans origin.
The Arabic script has been used to write Afrikaans.
Afrikaans is the only Indo-European language to have developed in Africa.
Afrikaans is the most commonly used language among non-black South Africans.

<<Back to the main page

On to Pronunciation!>>

Pronunciation

Afrikaans uses the same alphabet as English. Notable differences include diacritics on the letters (like ê), while certain letters, such as c, exist but are infrequently used.

You'll soon find Afrikaans has a very phonetic (phonemic) spelling; that is, unlike in English, French or even its parent language Dutch, Afrikaans words are almost always spelled the way they sound.

This chart uses IPA - the international phonetic alphabet to show the exact Afrikaans pronunciation. You can read more about it here. The English words are only an approximate guide. Afrikaans pronunciation can be a bit tricky for English speakers because the language has quite a few sounds that don't exist in English. The best way to learn is to listen to native Afrikaans speakers. You can listen to streaming Afrikaans radio here and hear Afrikaans sound recordings at this site ^{[dead link]}.

Letter	IPA	English Approximation	Example Word
a	ʌ, a, ɑː	plus, jump, awesome	kap
aa	ɑː	awesome	daad
aai	aːɪ	why	laai
ai	aɪ	thai	baie
au	ou	goat	auditorium
b	b, p (final position)	bat, mapp	bevat
ch	x	loch	chemie
c	s (before e, i, and y), k	sun, kick	Celsius
d	d, t (final position)	dark, hat	daar
dj	c	justice	djihad
e	ɛ, iˑǝ, ə, æ	bed, erie, about, cat	bed
ê	ɛː (final position), æ	hair, cat	hê
ee	iˑe	eerie	een
eeu	iːu	east + took	leeu
ei	əi	play	seil
ey	əi	play	ceylon
eu	øː	few	euforie
f	f	fox	familie
g	x, g, ç	loch, golf, hue	geld
gh	g, k (final position)	golf, kick	gholf
h	h	high	hoe
i	i, ə	see, about	idee
ie	i	see	dankie
j	j	yes	ja
k	k	kick	kat
l	l	let	lughawe
m	m	mall	maak
n	n, ŋ (before c, k, q, and x)	nice, sing	van
ng	ŋ	sing	vang
ns	ns	barns	Afrikaans
o	ɔ, oˑǝ	bog, wisdom	obligasie
ô	ɔ	cause	môre
oe	u	loot	voet
oei	uiː	phooey	koei
oi	oj	row + yes	boikot
oo	uˑo	loot	soom
ooi	ɔiː	oil	strooi
ou	ɔʊ	tow	mou
p	p	map	paar
r	ɾ	rolled r	rooi
s	s	sun	sein
sj	ʃ	shin	sjoe
t	t	top	taal
tj	tʃ (initial position), kj	top + shin, kick + yes	tjek
u	ɵ	urn	uit
uu	y	breed	duur
û	œː	no English approximation	brûe
ui	œy	play	lui
uy	œy	urn + east	ly
v	f	fox	voël
w	v, w (after consonant)	visit, winter	water
y	əi	play	ys
z	z	zulu	zirkonium

<<Back to Introduction

On to Lesson One!>>

Lesson One

Lesson One: The Basics #1 — Les Een: Die Grondbeginsels #1

Welcome to Afrikaans Lesson One. This course will focus heavily on translation and reading in order to further your knowledge in a shorter span of time. In far later lessons, we will start the lesson with the dialogues, but for now, we shall start with the grammar of the language. The chapter vocabulary section is where one can find the stress markers of words that appear throughout the lesson. Still, if you still need to practice basic Afrikaans pronunciation or need to get familiar with the idea of stress markers, we recommend using the Pronunciation page. This lesson will cover similarities between English and Afrikaans, the use of articles, subject and object pronouns, and infinitive and present tense verbs.

I. Similarities Between English and Afrikaans

As both Afrikaans and English stem from the West Germanic family, obvious similarities exist in syntax, vocabulary and word formation. This fortune allows for Afrikaans to be a simple language for English speakers to grasp.

Spelling Comparison

Apart from direct cognates, spelling patterns can be ascertained too. Though none of these rules are etched in stone and each word should be studied carefully, these commonalities definitely make acquiring certain Afrikaans words much easier. Any word here indicated with a stress marker does not need immediate attention is not necessary, while some without a stress marker will reappear latter in this lesson.

The English suffix, -tion, often translates to the Afrikaans suffix, -sie.
- Examples: poˈsisie (position), ˈaksie (action), konˈdisie (condition)
Some monosyllabic Afrikaans words containing the letter, g often correspond to an English, y. This trend continues with the particularly noticeable Afrikaans adjectival suffix, -ig.
- 'G' Examples: geel (Yellow), dag (day), weg (way), vlieg (to fly), oog (eye)
- '-ig' Examples: ˈheilig (holy), ˈsonnig (sunny), ˈysig (icy), ˈbesig (busy)
Some Afrikaans words beginning with sk-, are akin to English, sh-.
- Examples: skip (ship), ˈskaduˌwee (shadow), skoen (shoe)
If there are words that are the same in both languages, an English hard c is usually equivalent to an Afrikaans k with few exceptions:
- Examples: kamoeˈflage (camouflage), kalaˈmari (calamari)

II. Determiners: Articles

The definite article in English is the, which in Afrikaans, is die.

"Die man." ('The man.'); "Die kind." ('The child.'); "Die rivier in die woud." ('The river in the forest.')

English's indefinite article, a/an both become ŉ (pronounced as [ə]) in Afrikaans. Whenever a sentence begins with the indefinite article, the spelling rule associated declares that the noun, proper noun or adjective that directly follows must be capitalized.

"ŉ Vrou." ('A woman.'); "ŉ Tafel." ('A table.'); "ŉ Seun en ŉ meisie." ('A boy and a girl.')

III. Pronouns: Subject and Object

A. Subject Pronouns (Nominative Case)

Person	English			Afrikaans			English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans
Person	Singular						Plural		Formal
1st Pers.	I			ek			we	ons
2nd Pers.	you			jy			you	ˈjulle	you	u
3rd Pers.	he	she	it	hy	sy	dit	they	ˈhulle

Afrikaans, like English, follows a simplistic SVO (Subject - Verb - Object) word order. The subject of a sentence refers to who/what is doing an action.

I know him. → Ek ken hom.

Though the subject rules are essentially the same as in English, there are two things to note on formality of conversation:

When in an informal context, julle and hulle can be shortened to jul and hul.
- They talk to him. → "Hulle praat met hom." is the same as "Hul praat met hom.", though the latter is more informal. (NOTE: speak/talk to → praat met)
The formal, u (pronounced as [œ]), functions like a plural, but refers to both singular and plural. This form is used to show respect and is used toward one's superiors (a boss or teacher, for instance), to a stranger, to older people or to the Christian God. When in reference to the Christian God, it is capitalized as U.

B. Object Pronouns (Oblique Case)

Person	English			Afrikaans			English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans
Person	Singular						Plural		Formal
1st Pers.	me			my			us	ons
2nd Pers.	you			jou			you	ˈjulle	you	u
3rd Pers.	him	her	it	hom	haar	dit	them	ˈhulle

The object of a sentence describes who/what the action is directed towards. Unlike German or Russian, Afrikaans, like English, does not distinguish between the Direct Object (Accusative Case) and Indirect Object (Dative Case). Thus, all objective pronouns remain the same.

I know him. → Ek ken hom.

It should be noted that every plural object pronoun (including u) is the exact same as its subject form.

She forgets you. → Sy vergeet u.
He understands them. → Hy verstaan hulle/hul.

IV. Practicality: Greetings and Phrases

Afrikaans greetings are used in the exact same contexts as English ones, though with more attention to formality. When in an informal context, you might greet someone with a "haai" rather than a "hallo" or a "goeiedag". For instance, goeienaand is used when greeting a person during the evening while goeienag is used when leaving; No different from English.

A small thing to note is that the 'Good [x]' forms below exist as one word when posed as an interjection/greeting (Good afternoon! = Goeiemiddag!), but the form becomes two words when talking about a good part of the day (It was a good afternoon.' = "Dit was ŉ goeie middag.").

English	Afrikaans	Notes
hello	halˈlo
hi	haai
goodbye	totˈsiens	Literally a compound of "tot" ('till') + "sien" ('to see')
good day	ˈgoeieˌdag	A compound of "goed" ('good') + "dag" ('day')
good morning	ˌgoeieˈmôre	A compound of "goed" ('good') + "môre" ('morning', 'morrow')
good afternoon	ˈgoeiemidˌdag	A compound of "goed" ('good') + "middag" ('midday', 'afternoon')
good evening	ˌgoeieˈnaand	A compound of "goed" ('good') + "aand" ('evening'). Note the extra n in goeienaand.
goodnight	ˈgoeieˌnag	A compound of "goed" ('good') + "nag" ('night')
How are you?	Hoe gaan dit (met jou/u/julle)?	Though this phrase can be shortened informally to "Hoe gaan dit?", the phrase in full is "Hoe gaan dit met jou/u/julle?", this dependent on person and formality.
I'm fine	Dit gaan goed (met my)	The phrase is a direct answer to "Hoe gaan dit?", the ending depending on formality again.
My name is...	My naam is...
(many) thanks	(baie) ˈdankie
please	asseˈblief
pleased to meet you	ˈaangeˌname ˈkennis	The phrase is literally translated as "aangenaam" ('pleasant') + "kennis" ('knowledge')

In later lessons, the different given forms in the notes will be expounded on and will make sense to the learner (eg. Why Good becomes Goeie). For now, just learn the forms as given.

V. Verbs: The Infinitive, Present Simple and Present Continuous

The Infinitive

The infinitive, sometimes referred to as the verb's 'dictionary form', is formed in English by adding 'to' before the verb's present participle. The infinitive is the form of a verb without a subject or specific tense.

to walk, to sleep, to eat.

In Afrikaans, the infinitive form is formed by adding 'om te' before the participle.

om te loop, om te slaap, om te eet.

The Present Simple and Present Continuous

Fortunately, Afrikaans has extremely simple conjugation. If you look at every present form in every countable person, you will notice that the verb and its participle NEVER change. There is no direct distinction between verb forms of the present simple or present continuous.

I (am) eat(ing) an apple. → Ek eet ŉ appel.
I (am) sleep(ing). → Ek slaap.

However, it must be noted that there are literal ways to describe the continuous, and we shall cover it in future lessons. Another thing to know is that there are two very common verbs that deviate completely from the conjugation's common ruleset: "om te wees" ('to be') and "om te hê" ('to het'), which we'll cover in the next lesson.

Person	English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans
	Present Simple		Present Continuous
Singular
1st Pers.	I walk	ek loop	I am walking	ek loop
2nd Pers.	you walk	jy/u loop	you are walking	jy/u loop
3rd Pers.	he/she/it walks	hy/sy/dit loop	he/she/it is walking	hy/sy/dit loop
	Present Simple		Present Continuous
Plural
1st Pers.	we walk	ons loop	we are walking	ons loop
2nd Pers.	you walk	julle loop	you are walking	julle loop
3rd Pers.	they walk	hulle loop	they are walking	hulle loop

VI. Chapter Vocabulary

This is the chapter's main vocabulary. By the next chapter, you should well know these words as they are all quite common. Still, one should take note of the example words used in the grammatical explanations and try to keep them in mind as they will appear in the exercises too.

Nouns and Adjectives		Verbs and Adverbs		Conjunctions and Prepositions		Numerals: 0 - 10
English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans
apple	ˈappel	to be	om te wees (pres. is)	also	ook	zero	nul
boss	baas	to eat	om te eat	and	en	one	een
boy	seun	to forget	om te verˈgeet	in	in	two	twee
child	kind	to have	om te hê (pres. het)	on	op	three	drie
day	dag	to live; to reside	om te woon			four	vier
forest	woud	to see	om te sien			five	vyf
friend	vriend	to sleep	om te slaap			six	ses
girl	ˈmeisie	to think	om te dink			seven	ˈsewe
icy	ysig	to understand	om te verstaan			eight	agt
man	man	here	hier			nine	ˈnege
mister; sir	meˈneer	no	nee			ten	tien
madam; missus	meˈvrou	yes	ja
night	nag	very; much; many	baie
pretty	mooi	where	waar
river	riˈvier
ship	skip
shoe	skoen
summer	ˈsomer
sunny	ˈsonnig
table	ˈtafel
today	vanˈdag
weather	weer
winter	ˈwinter
woman	vrou

VII. Chapter Dialogues

Almost every lesson, two different dialogues related to the material of the lesson is provided to get the learner familiar with the material at hand. Having reviewed this lesson's notes, you should be able to understand the grammatical structure. If you must look at the vocabulary and its stresses above or at the translation below, do so as sparingly as possible.

Dialogue 1: An Informal Conversation

Sonja	Goeiemôre, Johan!
Johan	Haai, Sonja! Hoe gaan dit?
Sonja	Dit gaan goed, dankie. En met jou?
Johan	Ook goed. Die weer is goed vandag, né?
Sonja	Ja, ek dink so.

Translation
Sonja	Good morning, Johan!
Johan	Hi, Sonja! How are you?
Sonja	I'm fine, thanks. And you?
Johan	Also well. The weather is good today, huh?
Sonja	Yes, I think so.

Dialogue 2: A Formal Conversation

Die Baas	Goeiedag, Johan.
Johan	Goeiemôre, meneer. Hoe gaan dit met u?
Die Baas	Dit gaan goed met my, dankie. Waar is Japie?
Johan	Hy is besig in die winkel.
Die Baas	Baie dankie, Johan. Totsiens.
Johan	Totsiens, meneer.

Translation
The Boss	Good day, Johan.
Johan	Good morning, sir. How are you?
The Boss	I'm fine, thanks. Where is Japie?
Johan	He is busy in the store.
The Boss	Thank you very much, Johan. Goodbye
Johan	Goodbye, sir.

Exercises

Exercise A: Translate into English:

Translate these sentences into English.

Goeienaand en goeienag.
Die dag is sonnig.
Die woud is mooi in die somer.
My naam is Japie, en hier is my vriend, Valerie.
Hul werk op ŉ skip.
Waar is my ander skoen?
Een, Vyf, Nege, Ses, Sewe, Twee

ANSWER(S)
Good evening and goodnight. The day is sunny. The forest is pretty in the summer. My name is Japie, and here is my friend, Valerie. They work on a ship. Where is my other shoe? One, Five, Nine, Six, Seven, Two

Exercise B: Translate into Afrikaans:

Translate these sentences into Afrikaans.

Hello, my name is Sally. Pleased to meet you.
The river is icy in the winter.
The madam lives here.
You (plural) eat an apple.
We are sleeping.
Hi! Where is the boss?
You (formal) see him.

ANTWOORD(E)
Hallo, my naam is Sally. Aangename kennis. Die rivier is ysig in die winter. Die mevrou woon hier. Julle eet ŉ appel. Ons slaap. Haai! Waar is die baas? U sien hom.

The Next Lesson

In the next lesson, we shall cover plurals, the past and future tenses, the verbs "om te wees" and "om te hê" and possessive pronouns and determiners. Good luck on your studies!
On to Lesson Two!>>

Lesson Two

The Basics #2 — Les Twee: Die Grondbeginsels #2

Welcome to Afrikaans Lesson Two. It is good to be familiar with the material of the first lesson, so if you need to go back, don't be unwilling to do so. While we will be skipping dialogue in this lesson, more than two exercises will be provided to practice for upcoming translations. This lesson will cover plural forms, word order, past and future verbs and possessive forms.

Plurals: Vowels, "-f" and Suffixes

Plural forms in Afrikaans must be carefully studied as the amount of rules can feel numerous, and it's not uncommon to find many exceptions in common words. Though once learnt and practiced, it becomes a rather simple process to figure out most plurals. The general plural ending in Afrikaans is an -e. Depending on the root of the word and its ending, the plural could react in multiple different ways. From now on, plurals will be provided in the chapter vocabulary section, and if you want to view a more concise list of irregulars (especially more uncommon words), you can do so here.

In this lesson, we will not be covering words ending in the letters, "-g" and "-d" as they tend to have unique rules or be unpredictable in form. Those will be covered next lesson.

GENERAL RULE 1: Short Vowels, Long Vowels and Diphthongs

For words ending in an -f, see the next rule.

Monosyllabic words containing a single vowel generally pluralize with the final consonant doubling with the addition of the -e.
- pan ('pan') → ˈpanne
- vlam ('flame') → ˈvlamme
- vis ('fish') → ˈvisse
- rok ('dress') → ˈrokke

As you are aware already, long vowels in Afrikaans are shown through the doubling of a vowel. However, when we pluralize these words, the second vowel falls away with the -e plural added (however, note that the long vowel pronunciation remains).
- uur ('hour') → ure
- week ('week') → ˈweke
- boom ('tree') → ˈbome
- droom ('dream') → ˈdrome
- muur ('wall') → ˈmure
- naam ('name') → ˈname

Diphthongs are a combination of two different vowel sounds, distinguished in Afrikaans with two different vowels (eg. aai, eu, ie, oe, ou). The majority of the time, monosyllabic words containing diphthongs pluralize with an -e.
- deur ('door') → deure
- boer ('farmer') → boere
- koek ('cake') → koeke
- woud ('forest') → woude
- dier ('animal') → diere

Important Vowel-Based Irregulars

English

Afrikaans
Singular

Afrikaans
Plural

Singular
Pronunciation

Plural
Pronunciation

lion

leeu

leeus

shirt

hemp

ˈhemde

/ɦɛmp/

/ˈɦɛm.də/

ship

skip

ˈskepe

/skəp/

/ˈskɪə̯.pə/

GENERAL RULE 2: Words Ending in -f

Short Vowel nouns ending in an -f change to a -wwe when they are pluralized.
- staf ('wooden staff') → ˈstawwe
- straf ('punishment') → ˈstrawwe
For nouns containing long vowels, diphthongs and the vowel, y, these have their -f become a -we when pluralized.
- graaf ('shovel') → ˈgrawe
- kloof ('ravine') → ˈklowe
- druif ('grape') → ˈdruiwe
- brief ('letter') → ˈbriewe
- olˈyf ('olive') → olˈywe

Important "-f" Irregulars

English

Afrikaans
Singular

Afrikaans
Plural

Singular
Pronunciation

Plural
Pronunciation

court (of law)

hof

ˈhowe

/ɦɔf/

/ˈɦʊə.və/

grave

ˈgraf

ˈgrafte

GENERAL RULE 3: Words Ending in "-ie" & -"ee"

Nouns ending in an -ie almost always have their plural as an -s.
- horˈlosie ('watch') → horlosies
- poˈsisie ('position') → posisies
- akaˈdemie ('academy') → akademies

Important "-ie" Irregulars

English

Afrikaans
Singular

Afrikaans
Plural

knee

knie

knieë

Monosyllabic words ending in -ee pluralize with the final e becoming an ë.
- see ('sea') → seë
- fee ('fairy') → feë
- tree ('pace') → treë

GENERAL RULE 4: Suffixes 1

The suffix -heid always pluralizes as -hede, no matter the circumstances.
- ˈskoonheid ('beauty') → skoonhede
- ˈbesigheid ('business') → besighede
- ˈkleinigheid ('trifle') → kleinighede
When referring to an inanimate object, the suffix, -us always pluralizes as -kusse. However, when the object is animate (referring to a human), an alternate plural is available in which the -kus changes to a -ci.
- ˈsirkus ('circus') → sirkusse
- ˈfisikus ('physicist') → fisikusse OR fisici
- poˈlitikus ('politician') → politici (for this word, the "-ci" ending is more common)
- ˈmusikus ('musician') → musici (for this word, the "-ci" ending is more common)

CONVENIENT RULE: Family Plurals

Conveniently, any noun that refers to a family member pluralizes with an -s, no matter its vowels. This is pleasant as the word list contains some irregularities (seun, broer, oom).
- ˈvader ('father') → vaders
- ˈmoeder ('mother') → moeders
- broer ('brother') → broers
- ˈsuster ('sister') → susters
- seun ('son'; also 'boy') → seuns
- ˈdogter ('daughter') → dogters
- neef ('male cousin'; also 'nephew') → neefs
- nigˈgie ('female cousin'; also 'niece') → niggies
- ˈoupa ('grandfather') → oupas
- ˈouma ('grandmother') → oumas
- oom ('uncle') → ooms
- ˈtante ('aunt') → tantes

Verbs: Sentence Structure, The Simple Past, Past Perfect and Simple Future

Sentence structure in Afrikaans functions quite differently to English. Whenever we start the sentence with the subject, and that sentence contains two (or more) verbs, the general idea is that one of those verbs must be shifted to the end of the sentence. This means that there will only ever be a single verb before a noun phrase. While this seems daunting, the rules are steadfast in formation. The past and future tenses both require auxiliary verbs, and utilize this movement of the second verb in simple sentences. For triple verb sentences, the Afrikaans word order is:

Subject	Verb 1 {Verb}	Object {Noun Phrase}	Verb 2 {Main Verb}	Verb 3→ {Infinitive}

Though the first two verbs can be any type of verb, the third verb and any verb following is always an infinitive. This will be useful to know for when you will get to the usage of auxiliaries in Afrikaans.

The Simple Past

The formation of Afrikaans simple past is the only time that the verb form is modified. Though there are a set of prefixes that absolve its usage, the general affix, ge is tacked to the verb root, the root maintaining its stress pattern. Another prerequisite of forming the past tense in Afrikaans is always to have the auxiliary verb, "het" ('have') as the first verb. This may seem familiar to the English past perfect ('I had...'). And so, to summarize, the general rule of the past tense is {het + geˈ[INF.]}.

I drink the juice. → Ek drink die sap.
I drank the juice. → Ek het die sap geˈdrink. (note both second verb placement and suffix)

One thing to note is that verbs beginning with the letter, "e" must have the first letter of the root receive a diaeresis.

I eat sausage. → Ek eet wors.
I ate sausage. → Ek het wors geˈëet.

As stated before, not all verb forms can take the ge affix. In words beginning with the prefixes, be-; ge-; er-; her-; mis-; ont-; ver-, these forms remain the EXACT same when in the past tense.

I understand him. → Ek verˈstaan hom.
I understood him. → Ek het hom verˈstaan. (note the sentence structure)

The Simple Future

While the Afrikaans future tense requires that the word order change and that an auxiliary verb be used, the actual verb form itself does not change. So, in order to form the future tense, one must use "sal" ('will' and 'shall') and need only use the present participle of the verb. So, the rule of the future tense is {sal + [INF]}

I drink the juice. → Ek drink die sap.
I will drink the juice. → Ek sal die sap drink.
I eat sausage. → Ek eet wors.
I will eat sausage. → Ek sal wors eet.
I understand him. → Ek verˈstaan hom.
I will understand him. → Ek sal hom verˈstaan.

Verbs: "om te wees" and "om te hê"

KEEP IN MIND: The auxiliary "have to" cannot be constructed with "om te hê" in Afrikaans.
As we had noted in the previous lesson, the verbs "om te wees" ('to be') and "om te hê" ('to have') both have unique conjugations per the Afrikaans standard. Despite this, they are still quite simple to grasp.

For the sake of convenience, the future tense has been included to familiarize the learner. As "om te wees" is technically an auxiliary, it comes before "om te hê" in the place of the second verb. Below is a mixture of the two verbs used together. One can simply memorize the forms below in order to describe time of occurrence.

om te wees				om te hê
I am. → Ek is. I was. → Ek was. I have been. → Ek was. (BE CAREFUL!) I had been. → Ek was geˈwees. (BE CAREFUL!) I will be. → Ek sal wees. I will have been. → Ek sal geˈwees het.				I have. → Ek het. I had. → Ek het geˈhad. I have had. → Ek het geˈhad. I had had. → Ek het geˈhad. I will have. → Ek sal hê. I will have had. → Ek sal geˈhad het.
Examples
I am here.				I have a fish.
I am here. → Ek is hier. I was here. → Ek was hier. I have been here. → Ek was hier. I had been here. → Ek was hier geˈwees. I will be here. → Ek sal hier wees. I will have been here. → Ek sal hier geˈwees het.				I have a fish. → Ek het ŉ vis. I had a fish. → Ek het ŉ vis geˈhad. I have had a fish. → Ek het ŉ vis geˈhad. I had had a fish. → Ek het ŉ vis geˈhad. I will have a fish. → Ek sal ŉ vis hê. I will have had a fish. → Ek sal ŉ vis geˈhad het.

Pronouns: Possessive Determiners and Pronouns

Subject Pronouns: Dummy Pronoun and Items

We will quickly go over another aspect of subject pronouns. When referring to an object as it or they, these are always referred to as dit, no matter the number, though it is common to collectivize such.

'It is a shoe.' = "Dit is ŉ skoen."
'They are shoes.' = "Dit is ˈskoene."

The same applies to the 'Weather "It"', a dummy pronoun.

'It is sunny.' = "Dit is ˈsonnig."

Pronouns: Multiple Subject Pronouns

One area in which the languages differ is in when there are multiple subject pronouns one after the other. Whereas English always has 'I' come after any other subject pronoun, it is the opposite in Afrikaans where ek comes first.

You and I eat cake. → Ek and jy eet koek.
He, she and I think so. → Ek, hy en sy dink so.

Possessive Determiners

Person	English	Afrikaans		English
Person	Singular			Plural			Formal
1st Pers.	my	my	our			ons
2nd Pers.	your	jou	your			ˈjulle	your	u
3rd Pers.	his/its	her	sy		haar	they	ˈhulle

The structure works as English does. Pleasantly, the plural and ("u") possessive determiners remain the exact same as their subject and object forms.

It is your hat. → Dit is jou hoed.
It is her dress. → Dit is haar rok.

In a sentence referring to possession, one must be careful not to confuse "Sy" as 'She'. Obviously note the word following the use.

It is his pencil. → Dit is sy ˈpotˌlood.

When forming the possessive demonstrative with a noun, the particle "se" is used to denote such.

They are the girl's shoes. → Dit is die ˈmeisie se skoene.
It is the woman's jewel. → Dit is die vrou se juˈweel.

Possessive Pronouns (Genitive Case)

Person	English	Afrikaans		English
Person	Singular			Plural			Formal
1st Pers.	mine	ˈmyne	ours			ons s'n
2nd Pers.	yours	ˈjoune	yours			ˈjulle s'n	your	u s'n van u
3rd Pers.	his/its	hers	ˈsyne		ˈhare	theirs	ˈhulle s'n

Again, there are no real differences in usage of the genitive pronouns between the two languages.

The hat is yours. → Die hoed is ˈjoune.
The dress is hers. → Die rok is ˈhare.
The pencil is his. → Die potlood is ˈsyne.

However, there is a small difference if to couple with the preposition, 'of'. For this purpose, English would use the construction {of + genitive prn.}. Instead, Afrikaans uses the construction {van + object prn.}.

The hat of mine. → Die hoed van my. (~~van myne~~)
The dress of yours. → Die rok van jou.
The pencil of his. → Die potlood van hom.

Though all plural forms take "s'n", "u" is more open to using the aforementioned 'of'. This ends up creating a somewhat nonstandard construction of "van u" ('of you').

The cake is yours. → (standard) Die koek is u s'n; (nonstandard) Die koek is van u.

The particle "s'n" remains as the possessor with a noun.

The shoes are the girl's. → Die skoene is die meisie s'n.
The jewel is the woman's. → Die juweel is die vrou s'n.

Chapter Vocabulary

As many words were introduced via examples, the 'chapter vocabulary' will be short, and so, one should learn all of the words that were previously showcased in the plural section. Many of those words are commonplace, and to know them will be very helpful.

Nouns and Adjectives		Verbs and Adverbs		Numerals: 11 - 20
English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans
autumn	herfs	to believe	om te glo	eleven	elf
book	boek (-e)	to come	om te kom	twelve	twaalf
café	kaˈfee (-s)	to do	om te doen	thirteen	ˈdertien
cinema	bioˈskoop (bioskope)	to drink	om te drink	fourteen	ˈveertien
document	geˈskrif (-te)	to go	om te gaan	fifteen	ˈvyftien
dog	hond (-e)	to make	om te maak	sixteen	ˈsestien
film; movie	fliek (-e)	to write	om te skryf	seventeen	ˈsewentien
food	kos	now	nou	eighteen	ˈagttien
spring	lente			nineteen	ˈnegentien
				twenty	ˈtwintig

Exercises

Exercise A: Plural Forms

Below are words you have not yet encountered. However, using the plural rules above, you can determine which fits what. After completion of the exercise, try to put these words to memory.

boot
bal
ˈkoppie
voet
sif
vuur
kat
pen
dief
ˈstasie
kleur

ANTWOORD(E)
boot ('boat') → ˈbote bal ('ball') → ˈballe koppie ('cup') → ˈkoppies voet ('foot') → ˈvoete sif ('sieve') → ˈsiwwe vuur ('fire') → ˈvure kat ('cat') → ˈkatte pen ('pen') → ˈpenne dief ('thief') → ˈdiewe stasie ('station') → ˈstasies kleur ('colour') → ˈkleure

Exercise B: Forming Tenses

You will be given very basic sentences that you must first form in the past tense and then the future.

Sy slaap.
Ek eet.
Dit is jou kat.
Waar is Jan?
Jy verstaan my.
Sy het ŉ rok.
Julle skryf die geskrif.
Ek glo haar broer.
Die vrou het baie juwele.

ANTWOORD(E)
Sy slaap. Sy het geslaap. Sy sal slaap. Ek eet. Ek het geëet. Ek sal eet. Dit is jou kat. Dit was jou kat gewees. Dit sal jou kat wees. Waar is Jan? Waar was Jan gewees? Waar sal Jan wees? Jy verstaan my. Jy het my verstaan. Jy sal my verstaan. Sy het ŉ rok Sy het ŉ rok gehad. Sy sal ŉ rok hê. Julle skryf die geskrif. Julle het die geskrif geskryf. Julle sal die geskrif skryf. Ek glo sy broer. Ek het sy broer geglo. Ek sal sy broer glo. Die vrou het baie juwele Die vrou het baie juwele gehad. Die vrou sal baie juwele hê

Exercise C: Translate into English

Mag ons gaan?
Ek sal die fliek kyk.
Dit is sy broer se horlosie.
Sy het met haar skoene aan geslaap.
Dit was sonnig.
Ja, ek het ŉ hond gehad.

ANTWOORD(E)
May we go? I will be watching the film. It is his brother's watch. She slept with her shoes on. It has been sunny. Yes, I have had a dog.

Exercise D: Translate into Afrikaans

Where are her brothers?
I will go make food.
They could have been here.
Oh, the book is theirs.
He will have eaten the cake.
Thirteen, Fourteen, Nineteen, Sixteen, Twelve, Eighteen

ANSWER(S)
Waar is haar broers? Ek sal kos gaan maak. Hulle kon hier gewees het. O, die boek is hulle s'n. Hy sal die koek geëet het. Dertien, Veertien, Negentien, Sestien, Twaalf, Agtien

The Next Lesson

Between this and lesson one, you have been handed a great many words to learn. In the next lesson, we shall cover more plural forms, the infinitive modifier, demonstratives and some practical description. Good luck on your studies!

On to Lesson Three!>>

If you're still feeling shaky or want to review the previous chapter:

<<Back to Lesson One.

Lesson Three

Lesson Three: The Basics #3 — Les Drie: Die Grondbeginsels #3

Welcome to Afrikaans Lesson Three. Dialogues will be skipped again this lesson to save such for when we have enough grammatical concepts covered. This lesson will continue plural forms and cover the infinitive modifier, determiners and practical description.

Plurals: "-g", Suffixes Cont., and Unpredictable Plurals

Continuing from the last lesson, we will provide the rest of the necessary rules and from then on out, there will be very few words you will be unable to pluralize. For a more in-depth list of irregulars, you can go here.

GENERAL RULE 1: Words Ending in "-g"

There are multiple vowel combinations with the letter "-g", each with their own standard rule:

-ag changes to -ae. If it is a double "a", one of them falls away.
- vlag ('flag') → vlae
- dag ('day') → dae
- plaag ('plague') → plae
-ig adds to the suffix a -te.
- lig ('light') → ligte
- geˈdig ('poem') → gedigte
- geˈsig ('face') → gesigte
-og changes to a -oë. If it is a double "o", one of them falls away.
- oog ('eye') → oë
- boog ('bow') → boë
- ˈoorlog ('war') → oorloë
- bioˈloog ('biologist') → bioloë
-oeg and -ieg change to -oeë and -ieë.
- ploeg ('plough') → ploeë
- kroeg ('pub'; 'bar') → kroeë
- wieg ('cradle') → wieë
-uig changes to a -uie.
- tuig ('harness') → tuie
- ˈvliegtuig ('aeroplane') → vliegtuie

GENERAL RULE 2: Words Ending in Doubled Consonants

For words that end in double consonants (eg. -ng, -nd, -rk, -rd), these pluralize with an -e.
- hand ('hand') → ˈhande
- ring ('ring') → ˈringe
- vlerk ('wing') → ˈvlerke
- wolk ('cloud') → wolke
- swaard ('sword') → swaarde

GENERAL RULE 3: Polysyllabic Words

Polysyllabic words that don't have their stress on the final syllable usually pluralize with an -s (as usual, there are exceptions). This explains why words you had seen last lesson ('ˈvader', 'ˈmoeder', 'ˈdogter'), had -s as their plural. This also includes words that end in -ing pluralize with an -s.
- ˈwortel ('carrot, root') → ˈwortels
- ˈvenster ('window') → ˈvensters
- ˈkoning ('king') → ˈkonings
- ˈhoring ('horn') → ˈhorings
Contrast this with words who's stress does fall on the final syllable.
- riˈvier ('river') → riviere
- ingeˈwand ('gut, intestine') → ingewande
- kampiˈoen ('champion') → kampiˈoene

GENERAL RULE 4: Suffixes 2

The suffix -ding has the odd property of pluralizing as -goed.
- ˈspeelding ('toy') → ˈspeelgoed
- ˈeetding ('snack') → ˈeetgoed
- ˈslagding ('animal for slaughter') → ˈslaggoed
The -man suffix can be quite unpredictable.
- On one hand, some words have the -man suffix disappear completely, and the root itself pluralizes.
  - ˈbuurman ('neighbour') → ˈbure
  - ˈEngelsˌman ('Englishman') → ˈEngelse ('English')
  - ˈFransˌman ('Frenchman') → ˈFranse ('French')

- On the other hand, there are words (especially occupations) in which the suffix remains and pluralizes as a short vowel would ("-man" → "-manne").
  - ˈsakeˌman ('businessman') → ˈsakeˌmanne
  - ˈbrandweerˌman ('fireman') → ˈbrandweermanne

Plurals: Unpredictable Forms

These are specific forms that have no real pattern in the formation.

Plurals as -te

Though a lot of the time, the rules given so far work in many instances, there are many, many words that pluralize with -te. The unfortunate part is that one just has to capitulate and learn them by heart.
- nag ('night') → nagte (not nae)
- vrug ('fruit') → vrugte
- bas ('tree bark') → baste
- lug ('sky') → lugte
- bors ('chest'; 'breast') → borste

Words Ending in -d

As mentioned before, words ending in -d can be very unpredictable and there is no general rule as to how they work. In such instances, it's best to learn each individual word's plural form. Below are the types of plural formations.
- There are words that retain the -d and add an -e (however, some words may leave out pronunciation of -d in informal speech).
  - ˈeiland ('island') → eilande
  - hond ('dog') → honde
  - aand ('evening') → aande
  - daad ('deed') → dade
- There are words that lose the -d.
  - tyd ('time') → tye
  - kruid ('herb') → kruie
- Words that change the vowels are all irregular in form.
  - stad ('city') → ˈstede
  - god ('god') → ˈgode
  - lid ('member') → ˈlede
  - geˈbed ('prayer') → geˈbede
  - blad ('page') → ˈblaaie
  - pad ('road') → ˈpaaie

Plurals as "-ens", "-ere" and "-ers"

There are really only a handful of nouns that end in -ens, and so, listed below are the most common and non-informal of terms.
- bed ('bed') → ˈbeddens
- bad ('bathtub') → ˈbaddens
- geˈvoel ('feeling') → geˈvoelens
- nooi ('sweetheart') → ˈnooiens
- wa ('wagon') → ˈwaens
There are only four words that end in -ere.
- goed ('goods') → ˈgoedere
- lied ('song') → ˈliedere
- geˈmoed ('state of mind and heart') → geˈmoedere
- volk ('nation, peoples') → ˈvolkere (but the more common plural is ˈvolke)
"Kind" and "Kalf" are the ONLY words in the language that pluralizes with -ers.
- kind ('child') → ˈkinders
- kalf ('calf') → kalwers

Verbs: The Infinitive Modifier

One thing you should be aware of is that when an infinitive directly modifies a noun phrase, there is a certain structure one must use. The "om te" is split apart, and so, the structure used is {om [noun phrase] te [verb]}.

to run a mile. → om ŉ myl te ˈhardˌloop.
to drink water. → om ˈwater te drink.

Determiners and Pronouns: Demonstratives

Demonstratives reference people or things based on location without directly referring to them. In basic terms, you will know them in English as 'this', 'these', 'that' and 'those'. When they act as determiners (i.e. a noun directly follows the demonstrative), hierdie ('this/these') and daardie ('that/those') are used, both of which refer to the singular and plural, the key difference lying in the number of the noun. When pronouncing "hierdie" and "daardie", the d is silent.

This dog. → Hierdie hond.
These dogs. → Hierdie honde.
That dog. → Daardie hond.
Those dogs. → Daardie honde.
'This bicycle is mine.' → "Hierdie fiets is myne."

One area in which you cannot use "hierdie" is when in reference to times of the day and with "year".

This morning. → Vanoggend (However, daardie oggend)
This afternoon. → Vanmiddag (However, daardie middag)
This evening. (also "Tonight") → Vanaand (However, daardie nag)
This day. (also "Today") → Vandag (However, daardie dag)
This year. → Vanjaar (However, daardie jaar)

When the demonstratives act as pronouns (i.e. on their own), there are two different terms:

"Dit" is by far the most commonly used in this role and refers to all four English demonstratives.
- 'This/That is my dog.' = "Dit is my hond."
- 'These/Those are my dogs.' = "Dit is my honde."
- 'This is my bicycle.' = "Dit is my fiets."
- 'He had cooked these. = "Hy het dit geˈkook."

The other two terms are "dié" and "daai". "Dié" is somewhat formal, but can still be used in a pejorative context to refer to a person without mentioning them. "Daai" on the other hand is very common in informal (and only informal) settings to replace both "dit" and "daardie".
- 'This/That is my uncle.' = "Dié/Daai is my oom."
- 'These/Those are my uncles.' = "Dié/Daai is my ooms."
- 'You can cook these. = "Jy kan dié/daai kook."
- 'He spoils everything!' = "Dié beˈderf ˈalles!"

Practicality: "I Like/Love..." and "I Need..."

This section serves to fill out the practical language you may encounter or use in your daily life as well as unique constructions that Afrikaans speakers use in contrast to Anglophones.

I Like/Love

In approaching affection for something, English speakers use the verbs, "like" and "love". Rather than a verb, Afrikaans uses phrases to structure these. Don't forget that the phrase structure will change if the tense does. 'To like' has the basic form of {[PRN.] hou (daar)van...}.

I like [noun]. → Ek hou van [noun].
- I like her music. → Ek hou van haar musiek.
I like [infinitive]. → Ek hou ˈdaarvan [infinitive].
- I like to travel. → Ek hou ˈdaarvan om te reis.
I like [infinitive] [noun]. → Ek hou ˈdaarvan [infinitive + noun].
- I like to walk in the garden. → Ek hou ˈdaarvan om in die tuin te loop.

'To love' has the basic form of {[PRN.] is lief (vir)...}.

I love [noun]. → Ek is lief vir [noun].
- I love her music. → Ek is lief vir haar musiek.
I love [infinitive]. → Ek is lief [infinitive]. OR Ek is lief ˈdaarˌvoor [infinitive].
- I love to travel. → Ek is lief om te reis. OR Ek is lief ˈdaarˌvoor om te reis.
I love [infinitive] [noun]. → Ek is lief [infinitive + noun]. OR Ek is lief ˈdaarˌvoor [infinitive + noun].
- I love to walk in the garden. → Ek is lief om in die tuin te loop. OR Ek is lief ˈdaarˌvoor om in die tuin te loop.

I Need...

There are two possible constructions. These are used only for nouns and not the modal construction for verbs.

The first construction, {[PRN.] het [noun] ˈnodig...}.
- I need a doctor! → Ek het ŉ dokter ˈnodig!
- He needs you to help him. → Hy het jou ˈnodig om hom te help.
As for the second construction, {[PRN.] beˈnodig [noun]}, one could rather think of "benodig" as 'in need of'.
- I (am in) need (of) a doctor! → Ek beˈnodig ŉ ˈdokter!
- We (are in) need (of) textbooks. → Ons beˈnodig handboeke.

Chapter Vocabulary

There are very few words this lesson. After all, the examples have been quite numerous.

Nouns and Adjectives		Verbs and Adverbs
English	Afrikaans	English	Afrikaans
bathroom	ˈbadˌkamer	to use	om te geˈbruik
cricket	ˈkrieket	to play	om te speel
difficult	ˈmoeilik
love	ˈliefde (-s)
toilet	ˈtoilet (-te)

Exercises

Exercise A: Swadesh Plurals

This exercise will be very hefty, but it provides a lot of practice. Below is listed all of the countable nouns found in the Swadesh list, and your task is to pluralize them all. You are certainly not obligated to learn all of the words below, rather just follow the exercise's instruction.

THE LIST
vrou man mens kind ˈmoeder ˈvader dier vis voël hond luis slang wurm boom woud stok vrug saad blaar ˈwortel bas blom gras tou been ˈeier ˈhoring stert veer haar kop oor oog neus mond tand tong nael voet knie hand vlerk maag ingeˈwand nek rug bors hart ˈlewer son maan ster reën riˈvier meer see sout klip grond wolk lug wind vuur as pad berg nag dag jaar naam

ANTWOORDE
vrou ('woman') → ˈvroue man ('man') → ˈmanne mens ('person') → ˈmense kind ('child') → ˈkinders moeder ('mother') → 'ˈmoeders vader ('father') → ˈvaders dier ('animal') → ˈdiere vis ('fish') → ˈvisse voël ('bird') → voëls hond ('dog') → ˈhonde luis ('louse') → ˈluise slang ('snake') → ˈslange wurm ('worm') → wurms boom ('tree') → ˈbome woud ('forest') → ˈwoude stok ('stick') → ˈstokke vrug ('fruit') → ˈvrugte saad ('seed') → ˈsade blaar ('leaf') → ˈblare wortel ('carrot, root') → ˈwortels bas ('tree bark') → ˈbaste blom ('flower') → ˈblomme gras ('grass') → ˈgrasse tou ('rope') → ˈtoue been ('leg, bone') → ˈbene eier ('egg') → ˈeiers horing ('horn') → ˈbote stert ('tail') → ˈsterte veer ('feather') → ˈvere haar ('hair') → ˈhare kop ('head') → ˈkoppe oor ('ear') → ˈore oog ('eye') → ˈoë neus ('nose') → ˈneuse mond ('mouth') → ˈmonde tand ('tooth') → ˈtande tong ('tongue') → ˈtonge nael ('fingernail') → ˈnaele voet ('foot') → ˈvoete knie ('knee') → ˈknieë hand ('hand') → ˈhande vlerk ('wing') → ˈvlerke maag ('stomach') → ˈmae ingeˈwand ('gut') → ingeˈwande nek ('neck') → nekke rug ('back') → rûe bors ('chest, breast') → ˈborste hart ('heart') → ˈharte lewer ('liver') → ˈlewers son ('sun') → ˈsonne maan ('moon') → ˈmane ster ('star') → ˈsterre reën ('rain') → ˈreëns rivier ('river') → ˈriviere meer ('lake') → ˈmere see ('sea') → ˈseë sout ('salt') → ˈsoute klip ('rock') → ˈklippe grond ('earth') → ˈgronde wolk ('cloud') → ˈwolke lug ('sky, air') → lugte wind ('wind') → ˈwinde vuur ('fire') → vure as ('ash') → ˈasse pad ('road') → ˈpaaie berg ('mountain') → ˈberge nag ('night') → ˈnagte dag ('day') → ˈdae jaar ('year') → ˈjare naam ('name') → ˈname

Exercise B: Demonstratives

Determine which demonstrative would most suit the situation based on both grammar and formality.

En ___ is my ˈoupa. ('And this is my grandfather.')
Ja boet, ___ is my ˈmotor. ('Yeah bro, this is my car.')
___ tye is wild, ja? ('These times are wild, huh?')
Waar is Japie!? ___ ˈbeter ˈoppas! ('Where is Japie? He better watch out!')
___ hoede is duur! ('Those hats are expensive!')
___ kat is baie mooi. ('This cat is very pretty.')

ANTWOORDE
En dit is my oupa. Ja boet, daai is my motor. Hierdie tye is wild, ja? Waar is Japie!? Dié beter oppas! Daardie hoede is duur! Hierdie kat is baie mooi.

Exercise C: Practical Language

Translate below .

Jy hou van my kat.
Hy is lief daarvoor om krieket te speel.
Ek het my vriende nodig.
I need the toilet. Where is it?
She loves him very much.
I like to eat apples.

ANTWOORDE & ANSWERS
You like my cat. He loves to play cricket. I needed my friends. Ek het die toiˈlet nodig. Waar is dit? Sy is baie lief vir hom. Ek hou van appels te eet.

Exercise D: Translate Into English

To buy many rings for her.
The bow has been used in many wars.
Those clouds in the sky.
I liked the food.
Jacobus has fifteen toys. Marie has one toy.
The cities were on the island.

ANTWOORDE
Om vir haar baie ringe te koop. Die boog was in baie oorloë gebruik. Daardie wolke in die lug. Ek het van die kos gehou. Jacobus het vyftien speelgoed. Marie het een speelding. Die stede was op die eiland.

Exercise E: Translate Into Afrikaans

Die vliegtuig het twee vlerke.
Daardie honde het my gebyt!
Ek is lief vir katte, honde, slange en al die diere.
Hier is kruie vir die kos.
Sy moeder gee baie liefde.
Dit is moeilik om hierdie briewe te skryf!

ANSWERS
The aeroplane has two wings. Those dog bit me! I love cats, dogs, snakes and all the animals. Here are herbs for the food. His mother gives much love. It is difficult to write these letters!

The Next Lesson

Between this and lesson one, you have been handed a great many words to learn. In the next lesson, we shall cover auxiliary verbs and a general word order. Good luck on your studies!

On to Lesson Four!>>

If you're still feeling shaky or want to review the previous chapter:

<<Back to Lesson Two.

External Links

Afrikaans/External Links

Newspapers

Here is a list of newspapers in South Africa and Namibia.

Suid-Afrikaanse koerante (Afrikaans), South African newspapers

https://www.netwerk24.com/beeld/ - Beeld
http://www.dieburger.com/ - Die Burger
https://www.netwerk24.com/volksblad - Volksblad
https://www.netwerk24.com/rapport - Rapport
http://www.dieson.co.za/ - Die son

Namibiese koerante (Afrikaans), Namibian newspapers

http://www.republikein.com.na/ -Republikein

Contributors

The Afrikaans Language textbook was first started on June 12, 2005. Add yourself to the list below if you feel you've made a significant contribution to this textbook.

Icelandic Hurricane (discuss · email · contribs · logs · count)
Rakuten06 (discuss · email · contribs · logs · count)
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Solstici (discuss · email · contribs · logs · count)
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