hou van
Liking: Hou Van
Ek hou van sjokolade. (I like chocolate.) Without van, hou means keep or hold.
How It Works
The basic pattern. Hou comes second and van comes before what you like:
- Ek hou van honde. (I like dogs.)
- Hou jy van Afrikaanse musiek? (Do you like Afrikaans music?)
- Ek hou van jou. (I like you.)
How much. Baie makes it stronger and goes before van: Ons hou baie van hierdie restaurant. (We really like this restaurant.) See baie.
Negation. Nie follows hou, and a second nie closes the sentence: Sy hou nie van koffie nie. See Double Negation.
Liking it. For a thing, van + dit becomes daarvan: Ek het die boek gelees en ek hou daarvan. (I read the book and I like it.) See daar/hier + preposition.
Liking an activity. There are three natural ways to say it:
- Ek swem graag. (the simplest; see graag)
- Ek hou van swem. (the verb used like a noun)
- Ek hou daarvan om te swem. (van becomes daarvan before om te)
In the past. Hou gets ge- and goes to the end, while van stays before its object: Hy het baie van die fliek gehou. (He really liked the film.)
Love. For I love you, Afrikaans uses a different phrase: Ek is lief vir jou. See adjective + preposition. Hou van is one of many verbs with a fixed preposition; see verb + preposition.
Examples (6)
- Ek hou van sjokolade.
I like chocolate.
Word by Word: I hold of chocolate.
- Hou jy van honde?
Do you like dogs?
Word by Word: Hold you of dogs?
- Sy hou nie van koffie nie.
She doesn't like coffee.
Word by Word: She holds not of coffee not.
- Ons hou baie van hierdie restaurant.
We really like this restaurant.
Word by Word: We hold very of this restaurant.
- Ek het die boek gelees en ek hou daarvan.
I read the book and I like it.
Word by Word: I have the book read and I hold thereof.
For a thing, van + dit becomes daarvan.
- Hy het baie van die fliek gehou.
He really liked the film.
Word by Word: He has very of the film held.
In the past, gehou goes to the end and van stays before die fliek.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out van. The speaker wants to say I like chocolate.
Ek hou sjokolade.Ek hou van sjokolade.Without van, hou means keep, so the sentence says I keep chocolate. Like always needs van.
Forgetting the second nie.
Ek hou nie van koffie.Ek hou nie van koffie nie.When something follows the first nie, the sentence needs a second nie at the end.
Using van directly before om te.
Ek hou van om te swem.Ek hou daarvan om te swem.Van cannot stand right before om te. Use daarvan, or simply say Ek swem graag.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Hou van uses the preposition van with an ordinary present-tense verb.
Related Patterns
- graagGraag (Like Doing)
Graag after a verb is the simplest way to say you like doing something.
Level 1 - daarmee/hiervoor/daaroorDaarmee, Hiervoor, Daaroor
Explains why van + dit becomes daarvan.
Level 3 - Verbs With Fixed Prepositions
Hou van is one of many verbs with a fixed preposition.
Level 3 - Adjectives With Fixed Prepositions
Lief vir, as in Ek is lief vir jou, is how Afrikaans says love.
Level 3 - nie ... nieDouble Negation
Negative sentences with hou van need two nie.
Level 1 - baieVery: Baie
Baie before van makes the liking stronger.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice hou van in Bubblegum
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