sou (Polite Requests)

Polite Requests with Sou

Level 4

Ask politely with sou + kan: Sou jy my kan help? (Could you help me?)

How It Works

1. From direct to polite. Each step sounds a little softer:

  • Help my! (Help me!)
  • Kan jy my help? (Can you help me?)
  • Sal jy my help? (Will you help me?)
  • Sou jy my kan help? (Could you help me?)

Add asseblief (please) or dalk (perhaps) for even more politeness: Sou jy my dalk kan help? With a stranger or an older person, use u: Sou u 'n oomblik kan wag?

2. Word order. In the question, sou comes first and the subject second. The second modal, usually kan, goes to the end just before the other verb (see two modals together): Sou jy my kan help?

3. Useful frames.

  • Sou jy omgee om ...? (Would you mind ...?)
  • Sou dit moontlik wees om ...? (Would it be possible to ...?)
  • Ek sou graag ... wil hê. (I would like ...) See wil ... hê.
  • Ek sou graag wil weet ... (I would like to know ...)

4. Softer opinions. Ek sou sê ... (I would say ...) makes an opinion sound less blunt: Ek sou sê dit is 'n goeie plan.

Examples (6)

  1. Sou jy my kan help?

    Could you help me?

    Word by Word: Would you me can help?

  2. Sou u 'n oomblik kan wag?

    Could you wait a moment?

    Word by Word: Would you a moment can wait?

    U is the respectful you, for strangers and older people.

  3. Sou jy omgee om die deur toe te maak?

    Would you mind closing the door?

    Word by Word: Would you mind to the door closed to make?

    Toemaak is a separable verb, so te goes inside it: toe te maak.

  4. Ek sou graag 'n koppie koffie wil hê.

    I would like a cup of coffee.

    Word by Word: I would gladly a cup coffee want have.

  5. Sou dit moontlik wees om môre te kom?

    Would it be possible to come tomorrow?

    Word by Word: Would it possible be to tomorrow to come?

  6. Ek sou sê dit is 'n goeie plan.

    I would say it is a good plan.

    Word by Word: I would say it is a good plan.

    Sou softens an opinion as well as a request.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting kan right after the subject.

    Sou jy kan my help?
    Sou jy my kan help?

    Only sou comes at the front. Kan goes to the end, just before help.

  • Putting kan after the other verb.

    Sou jy my help kan?
    Sou jy my kan help?

    At the end of an Afrikaans clause the modal comes before the infinitive, as in English: can help.

  • Leaving out hê when you ask for a thing.

    Ek sou graag 'n koppie koffie wil.
    Ek sou graag 'n koppie koffie wil hê.

    When wil means want and the object is a thing, hê must close the sentence.

How It Connects

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

sou (Polite Requests)Level 4Polite Requests with Sou

Learn This First

Polite requests combine sou with question order and, where needed, an infinitive complement.

Words in This Pattern

soukan