Old Participles: gebroke, geskrewe
Gebroke, Geskrewe: Old Participles as Adjectives
Hy het die koppie gebreek. (He broke the cup.) uses the verb. 'n gebroke hart (a broken heart) uses the old participle as an adjective.
How It Works
1. Two forms. The verb form is used after het and in the passive. The old form is used as an adjective:
- breek (break): het gebreek / gebroke
- skryf (write): het geskryf / geskrewe
- verloor (lose): het verloor / verlore
- bevries (freeze): het bevries / bevrore
- verbied (forbid): het verbied / verbode
2. Adjectives only. They stand before a noun or after is, and they already end in -e, so they do not change: 'n gebroke hart, Sy hart is gebroke. Rook is hier verbode. (Smoking is forbidden here.)
3. Literal and figurative. Some verbs have both a regular adjective and the old one, with different meanings. The old form is usually the figurative one: 'n gebreekte koppie (a broken cup) but 'n gebroke hart (a broken heart) and gebroke Engels (broken English).
4. Past tense and passive use the regular form. Hy het die koppie gebreek. Ek het my sleutels verloor. Die boek is in 1950 geskryf. See het + ge- and participles without ge-.
5. Fixed phrases. Some old forms live on in set phrases: verlore raak (get lost), handgeskrewe (handwritten), and gebore in Ek is in Kaapstad gebore.
Tip: In relaxed speech you may hear a regular form such as bevriesde, but bevrore is the standard word. Regular ge- forms used as adjectives are covered in participles before nouns.
Examples (6)
- Sy het 'n gebroke hart.
She has a broken heart.
Word by Word: She has a broken heart.
- Die geskrewe taal verskil van die gesproke taal.
The written language differs from the spoken language.
Word by Word: The written language differs from the spoken language.
- Die polisie het die verlore kind gevind.
The police found the lost child.
Word by Word: The police have the lost child found.
- Ek koop altyd bevrore groente.
I always buy frozen vegetables.
Word by Word: I buy always frozen vegetables.
- Rook is hier verbode.
Smoking is forbidden here.
Word by Word: Smoking is here forbidden.
- My sleutels het verlore geraak.
My keys got lost.
Word by Word: My keys have lost got.
Verlore raak (get lost) is a fixed phrase.
Common Mistakes
Using the old form after het.
Hy het die koppie gebroke.Hy het die koppie gebreek.Gebroke is only an adjective. The past of breek is het ... gebreek.
Using verlore as the past of verloor.
Ek het my sleutels verlore.Ek het my sleutels verloor.The past of verloor is het ... verloor. Verlore is an adjective, as in My sleutels het verlore geraak.
Using the old form in a passive.
Die boek is in 1950 geskrewe.Die boek is in 1950 geskryf.A passive describes an action, so it uses the regular ge- form geskryf.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Some old participles survive as adjectives.
Related Patterns
- het + ge-The Past Tense: Het + Ge-
The regular past tense, which uses gebreek and geskryf.
Level 2 - Past Passive: is + ge-The Past Passive: Is + Ge-
The past passive, which also uses the regular form.
Level 3 - is geboreSaying Where You Were Born
Gebore is an old participle kept in one fixed use.
Level 2 - -ende (Participle)The -ende Participle
Another verb form that works only as an adjective.
Level 4 - Participles Without ge-
Verbs such as verloor and verbied, whose regular form has no ge-.
Level 2
Practice Old Participles: gebroke, geskrewe in Bubblegum
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