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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 Audio
above bo Audio
under onder Audio
before voordat Audio
after na Audio
in front of voor Audio
behind agter Audio
far from ver van Audio
near naby Audio
in In Audio
inside binne Audio
outside buite Audio
with met Audio
without sonder Audio
about oor Audio
between tussen Audio
but maar Audio
for vir Audio
from van Audio
to tot Audio

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 Audio
she lives near the church
[verb + preposition] Sy woon naby die kerk Audio
he is taller than her
[adjective + preposition] Hy is langer as sy Audio
he came with his small dog
[preposition + pronoun] Hy het saam met sy klein hondjie gekom Audio
can you come with me?
[preposition + pronoun] Kan jy saam met my kom? Audio

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 Audio
I don't understand you
[negation + verb] Ek verstaan ​​jou nie Audio
this is not the correct word
[negation + adjective] Dit is nie die korrekte woord nie Audio
don't leave me
[imperative negation] Moenie my alleen los nie Audio
no problem
[negation + noun] geen probleem Audio

Negative Sentences - Afrikaans
I don't speak French
[negation + present tense] Ek praat nie Frans nie Audio
she didn't visit Germany
[negation + past tense] Sy het nie Duitsland besoek nie Audio
he cannot see us
[negative modal verb] Hy kan ons nie sien nie Audio
can't she play chess?
[interrogative negation] Kan sy nie skaak speel nie? Audio
we will not come late
[negation + future tense] Ons sal nie laat kom nie Audio

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? Audio
what? wat? Audio
who? wie? Audio
why? hoekom? Audio
where? waar? Audio

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Afrikaans
where do you live?
[interrogative + verb] Waar woon jy? Audio
does she speak Chinese?
[interrogative verb] Praat sy Chinees? Audio
how much is this?
[interrogative preposition] Hoeveel kos dit? Audio
can I help you?
[interrogative modal verb] Kan ek jou help? Audio
what is your name?
[interrogative preposition] Wat is jou naam? Audio

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 Audio
yesterday gister Audio
today vandag Audio
tonight vanaand Audio
tomorrow môre Audio
soon binnekort Audio
quickly vinnig Audio
slowly stadig Audio
together saam Audio
very baie Audio
almost byna Audio
always altyd Audio
usually gewoonlik Audio
sometimes soms Audio
rarely selde Audio
never nooit Audio

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? Audio
I need help immediately
[noun + adverb] Ek het dadelik hulp nodig Audio
she is very intelligent
[adverb + adjective] Sy is baie intelligent Audio
I will always love you
[verb + adverb] Ek sal altyd lief wees vir jou Audio
can we learn German together?
[adverb in a question] Kan ons saam Duits leer? Audio

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 Audio
you jy Audio
he hy Audio
she sy Audio
we ons Audio
they hulle Audio

Object Pronouns - Afrikaans
me my Audio
you jy Audio
him hom Audio
her haar Audio
us ons Audio
them hulle Audio

Possessive Pronouns - Afrikaans
my my Audio
your jou Audio
his sy Audio
her haar Audio
our ons Audio
their hul Audio

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 Audio
you speak very fast
[2nd pronoun + adverb] Jy praat baie vinnig Audio
he has three dogs
[3rd pronoun + verb] Hy het drie honde Audio
she can speak German
[3rd pronoun + verb] Sy kan Duits praat Audio
we will not come late
[1st plural pronoun] Ons sal nie laat kom nie Audio
they bought milk and bread
[3rd plural pronoun] Hulle het melk en brood gekoop Audio

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? Audio
I will give you money
[2nd object pronoun] Ek sal vir jou geld gee Audio
she wrote him a letter
[3rd object pronoun] Sy het vir hom 'n brief geskryf Audio
they visited her yesterday
[3rd object pronoun] Hulle het haar gister besoek Audio
can she help us?
[1st pl. object pronoun] Kan sy ons help? Audio
he gave them food
[3rd pl. object pronoun] Hy het vir hulle kos gegee Audio

Possessive Pronouns - Afrikaans
my name is Maya
[1st possessive pronoun] My naam is Maya Audio
your brother lives here
[2nd possessive pronoun] Jou broer woon hier Audio
her mother cooks for us
[3rd possessive pronoun] Haar ma kook vir ons Audio
his hobby is reading books
[3rd possessive pronoun] Sy stokperdjie is om boeke te lees Audio
our dream is to visit Paris
[1st pl. possessive pronoun] Ons droom is om Parys te besoek Audio
their house is not far
[3rd pl. possessive pronoun] Hulle huis is nie ver nie Audio

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 Audio
that restaurant is far Daardie restaurant is ver Audio
these apples are delicious Hierdie appels is heerlik Audio
those stars are shiny Daardie sterre is blink Audio

I hope you learned a lot about the Afrikaans grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!


Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus


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