Afrikaans Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Afrikaans grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Afrikaans and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Afrikaans and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Afrikaans.
| Prepositions | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| and | en  |
| above | bo |
| under | onder |
| before | voordat |
| after | na |
| in front of | voor |
| behind | agter |
| far from | ver van |
| near | naby |
| in | In |
| inside | binne |
| outside | buite |
| with | met |
| without | sonder |
| about | oor |
| between | tussen |
| but | maar |
| for | vir |
| from | van |
| to | tot |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | Ek eet sonder 'n mes |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | Sy woon naby die kerk |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | Hy is langer as sy |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | Hy het saam met sy klein hondjie gekom |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | Kan jy saam met my kom? |
Negation in Afrikaans
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | Ek verstaan jou |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | Ek verstaan jou nie |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | Dit is nie die korrekte woord nie |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | Moenie my alleen los nie |
| no problem [negation + noun] | geen probleem |
| Negative Sentences | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | Ek praat nie Frans nie |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | Sy het nie Duitsland besoek nie |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | Hy kan ons nie sien nie |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | Kan sy nie skaak speel nie? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | Ons sal nie laat kom nie |
Questions in Afrikaans
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| how? | hoe? |
| what? | wat? |
| who? | wie? |
| why? | hoekom? |
| where? | waar? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | Waar woon jy? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | Praat sy Chinees? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | Hoeveel kos dit? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | Kan ek jou help? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | Wat is jou naam? |
Adverbs in Afrikaans
It's time to learn the adverbs in Afrikaans. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| now | nou |
| yesterday | gister |
| today | vandag |
| tonight | vanaand |
| tomorrow | môre |
| soon | binnekort |
| quickly | vinnig |
| slowly | stadig |
| together | saam |
| very | baie |
| almost | byna |
| always | altyd |
| usually | gewoonlik |
| sometimes | soms |
| rarely | selde |
| never | nooit |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | Verstaan jy my nou? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | Ek het dadelik hulp nodig |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | Sy is baie intelligent |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | Ek sal altyd lief wees vir jou |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | Kan ons saam Duits leer? |
Pronouns in Afrikaans
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Afrikaans. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| I | Ek |
| you | jy |
| he | hy |
| she | sy |
| we | ons |
| they | hulle |
| Object Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| me | my |
| you | jy |
| him | hom |
| her | haar |
| us | ons |
| them | hulle |
| Possessive Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| my | my |
| your | jou |
| his | sy |
| her | haar |
| our | ons |
| their | hul |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | Ek is jou vriend |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | Jy praat baie vinnig |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | Hy het drie honde |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | Sy kan Duits praat |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | Ons sal nie laat kom nie |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | Hulle het melk en brood gekoop |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | Kan jy jou naam vir my gee? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | Ek sal vir jou geld gee |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | Sy het vir hom 'n brief geskryf |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | Hulle het haar gister besoek |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | Kan sy ons help? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | Hy het vir hulle kos gegee |
| Possessive Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | My naam is Maya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | Jou broer woon hier |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | Haar ma kook vir ons |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | Sy stokperdjie is om boeke te lees |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | Ons droom is om Parys te besoek |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | Hulle huis is nie ver nie |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| this is my house | Dit is my huis |
| that restaurant is far | Daardie restaurant is ver |
| these apples are delicious | Hierdie appels is heerlik |
| those stars are shiny | Daardie sterre is blink |
I hope you learned a lot about the Afrikaans grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Afrikaans Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |