Old Subjunctive Forms

Level 6

A few old phrases keep the subjunctive, a verb form for wishes and unreal ideas: God sy dank! (Thanks be to God!), as 't ware (as it were), Lank lewe die koning! (Long live the king!)

How It Works

1. What is left of the subjunctive. Older Dutch had a special verb form for wishes, blessings and unreal ideas. Afrikaans has lost it almost completely. In everyday Afrikaans, the present of wees is always is and the past is was (see is and wees). The old forms survive only in a handful of set phrases.

2. Sy: the old present subjunctive of wees. Sy here means be, as in English thanks be to God. It is not the pronoun sy (she, his).

  • God sy dank! (Thanks be to God!)
  • Hoe dit ook al sy, ... (Be that as it may, ...), still common in writing. It is built like hoe ... ook al.
  • Die Naam van die Here sy geloofd. (Blessed be the name of the Lord.), a Bible and church phrase.

3. Ware: the old past subjunctive. Ware means were in an unreal sense. Today it appears almost only in as 't ware (as it were), which softens a comparison: Hy is, as 't ware, die hart van die span.

4. A fixed wish without mag. Lank lewe die koning! is a wish, not a statement. Its verb lewe looks like the ordinary form, and its word order is the normal verb-second order after a fronted word: lank comes first, then the verb, then the subject. Only the fixed phrase itself makes it a wish. Lank lewe ...! can take a new name (Lank lewe Afrikaans!), but you cannot build new wishes with other verbs this way.

5. New wishes use mag. For any fresh wish or blessing, modern Afrikaans puts mag at the start: Mag julle baie gelukkig wees! For unreal conditions it uses sou or a verb-first condition, not an old subjunctive.

Tip: Treat these phrases like idioms. Say God sy dank, but never *Die weer sy mooi.

Examples (5)

  1. God sy dank, almal is veilig.

    Thank God, everyone is safe.

    Word by Word: God be thanks, everyone is safe.

    Sy is the old subjunctive of wees here, not the pronoun she.

  2. Hy is, as 't ware, die hart van die span.

    He is, as it were, the heart of the team.

    Word by Word: He is, as it were, the heart of the team.

    As 't ware keeps the old past subjunctive ware.

  3. Lank lewe die koning!

    Long live the king!

    Word by Word: Long live the king!

    A fixed wish: lank comes first and the verb lewe follows in second place, as in any sentence that starts with an adverb.

  4. Hoe dit ook al sy, ons moet môre begin.

    Be that as it may, we have to start tomorrow.

    Word by Word: How it also all be, we must tomorrow begin.

  5. Die Naam van die Here sy geloofd.

    Blessed be the name of the Lord.

    Word by Word: The name of the Lord be praised.

    A set phrase from Bible and church language.

Common Mistakes

  • Using sy as an ordinary form of wees.

    Ek hoop die weer sy môre mooi.
    Ek hoop die weer is môre mooi.

    Sy (be) survives only in fixed phrases such as God sy dank. In ordinary sentences, the present of wees is always is.

  • Replacing the old sy with is in God sy dank.

    God is dank, almal is veilig.
    God sy dank, almal is veilig.

    The fixed phrase uses the old subjunctive sy. God is dank would mean God is thanks, which makes no sense.

  • Building a new wish by putting the verb first.

    Gaan dit goed met jou!
    Mag dit goed gaan met jou!

    Afrikaans has no living wish form of the verb. A sentence that starts with the verb reads as a yes/no question (Is it going well with you?), so a new wish needs mag at the start. Only fixed phrases such as Lank lewe ...! work as wishes without mag.

How It Connects

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Old Subjunctive FormsLevel 6

Learn This First

Old subjunctive forms appear in wishes and fixed phrases.

Words in This Pattern

wareas't ware