Basic Word Order

Level 1

A simple Afrikaans sentence starts like English: subject + verb + the rest. Ek drink koffie. (I drink coffee.)

How It Works

Think of an Afrikaans main clause as having two verb slots:

  • Slot 1 is second place in the sentence. When there is only one verb, it goes here. When there are two, the helper verb goes here, such as wil (want), kan (can) or het (have).
  • Slot 2 is the very end of the clause. The other verb goes here, such as drink or gedrink.

Everything else, such as objects, times and places, sits between the two slots:

  • Ek drink elke oggend koffie. (I drink coffee every morning.)
  • Sy wil môre 'n boek koop. (She wants to buy a book tomorrow.)
  • Ons het gister in die tuin gewerk. (We worked in the garden yesterday.)

Time usually comes before place: gister in die tuin. See STOMPI rule.

Second place does not always mean the second word. If a sentence starts with something other than the subject, such as a time word, the verb still comes second and the subject moves after it: Môre drink ek koffie. See V2 inversion.

Questions and commands are different. A yes/no question or a command starts with the verb: Drink jy koffie? (Do you drink coffee?) See yes/no questions.

After words such as dat (that) and omdat (because), all the verbs go to the end instead. See subordinate clause word order.

Examples (5)

  1. Ek drink koffie.

    I drink coffee.

    Subject, verb, object: the same order as English.

  2. Ek wil koffie drink.

    I want to drink coffee.

    Word by Word: I want coffee drink.

    Wil stays second, and drink goes to the end.

  3. Sy het 'n brief geskryf.

    She wrote a letter.

    Word by Word: She has a letter written.

    Het stays second, and geskryf goes to the end.

  4. Ons kan môre fliek toe gaan.

    We can go to the movies tomorrow.

    Word by Word: We can tomorrow movie to go.

    Kan stays second, and gaan goes to the very end.

  5. Vandag werk ek tuis.

    Today I'm working from home.

    Word by Word: Today work I at-home.

    The sentence starts with vandag, so the verb werk comes second and the subject ek follows it.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the second verb next to the first, as in English.

    Ek wil drink koffie.
    Ek wil koffie drink.

    Only the first verb stays in second place. Every other verb goes to the end of the clause.

  • Putting the ge- form right after het.

    Sy het geskryf 'n brief.
    Sy het 'n brief geskryf.

    The ge- form is a second verb, so it goes to the very end.

  • Keeping the subject first after a fronted word.

    Vandag ek werk tuis.
    Vandag werk ek tuis.

    The verb must stay in second place, so the subject moves after it.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Basic Word OrderLevel 1

Learn This First

Basic word order puts the verb in second place, so learn how verbs look in the present tense first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.