voordat

Before (Voordat)

Level 2

Voordat means before and sends the verb to the end: Was jou hande voordat jy eet.

How It Works

1. Verb at the end:

  • Was jou hande voordat jy eet. (Wash your hands before you eat.)
  • Ek drink koffie voordat ek werk toe gaan. (I drink coffee before I go to work.)
  • Voordat ons ry, moet ons petrol ingooi. (Before we drive, we have to put in petrol.)

2. Voordat or voor? Voordat needs a clause with a subject and a verb. Before a noun, a pronoun or a time, use the preposition voor: voor die ete (before the meal), voor Vrydag (before Friday). In everyday Afrikaans, voor on its own is also used before a clause (voor jy eet), but voordat is always correct there.

3. In the past. The voordat-clause usually ends in participle + het: Hy het gebel voordat hy gekom het. (He phoned before he came.)

4. No extra nie. A voordat-clause is not negative, so in writing it has no nie of its own. You may hear an extra nie in speech, as in voordat jy dit nie self gesien het nie, but standard written Afrikaans leaves it out.

5. Word order. A voordat-clause at the start fills first place, so the main clause begins with its verb. In formal writing you may also see alvorens, which means the same.

Examples (6)

  1. Was jou hande voordat jy eet.

    Wash your hands before you eat.

    Word by Word: Wash your hands before you eat.

  2. Ek drink koffie voordat ek werk toe gaan.

    I drink coffee before I go to work.

    Word by Word: I drink coffee before I work to go.

  3. Voordat ons ry, moet ons petrol ingooi.

    Before we drive, we have to put in petrol.

    Word by Word: Before we drive, must we petrol in-pour.

    The voordat-clause comes first, so the main clause starts with moet.

  4. Hy het gebel voordat hy gekom het.

    He phoned before he came.

    Word by Word: He has phoned before he come has.

  5. Lees die vrae goed voordat jy begin skryf.

    Read the questions carefully before you start writing.

    Word by Word: Read the questions well before you begin write.

  6. Sluit die deur voordat jy gaan slaap.

    Lock the door before you go to sleep.

    Word by Word: Lock the door before you go sleep.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping main-clause order after voordat.

    Ek drink koffie voordat ek gaan werk toe.
    Ek drink koffie voordat ek werk toe gaan.

    Voordat sends the verb to the end of its clause.

  • Using voordat before a noun or a time.

    Ek sal voordat Vrydag klaar wees.
    Ek sal voor Vrydag klaar wees.

    Voordat needs a clause. Before a noun or a time, use the preposition voor.

  • Putting the subject first in the main clause after a voordat-clause.

    Voordat ons ry, ons moet petrol ingooi.
    Voordat ons ry, moet ons petrol ingooi.

    The voordat-clause fills first place, so the main verb must come next.

How It Connects

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

voordatLevel 2Before (Voordat)

Learn This First

Voordat starts a subordinate clause, so its verbs go to the end.

Words in This Pattern

voordat