Noun + se
Possession with Se
owner + se + thing: Jan se kar (Jan's car), my ma se huis (my mom's house), die kind se speelgoed (the child's toys).
How It Works
How to build it
Owner, then se, then what is owned:
- Jan se kar — Jan's car
- die kinders se kamer — the children's room (se follows the plural owner)
- die huis se dak — the roof of the house
- my ma se suster se seun — my mother's sister's son
Spelling
Possessive se has no accent. sê with a kappie is a different word that means say. Afrikaans never writes the owner with an apostrophe s, so it is Jan se kar, not Jan's kar.
Personal pronouns use their own forms
With a personal pronoun as owner, use a possessive pronoun instead: sy kar (his car), haar kar (her car), ons kar (our car). See Possessives: My, Your, His, Her.
Related forms
- With things, van is also possible and a little more formal: die dak van die huis. See Of and From.
- When the owned thing is left out, se becomes s'n: Dit is Jan s'n. (It is Jan's.) See Mine, Yours, Theirs.
- The question whose is wie se: Wie se boek is dit?
Examples (6)
- Dit is Jan se kar.
That is Jan's car.
Word by Word: It is Jan se car.
- My ma se huis is groot.
My mom's house is big.
Word by Word: My mom se house is big.
- Die kind se speelgoed lê oral.
The child's toys are lying everywhere.
Word by Word: The child se toys lie everywhere.
- Die kinders se kamer is bo.
The children's room is upstairs.
Word by Word: The children se room is up.
Se follows a plural owner in the same way.
- My ma se suster se seun is my neef.
My mother's sister's son is my cousin.
Word by Word: My mom se sister se son is my cousin.
Se can repeat to build a chain.
- Die huis se dak lek.
The roof of the house is leaking.
Word by Word: The house se roof leaks.
Se also works with things.
Common Mistakes
Using an English-style apostrophe s.
Jan's kar is rooi.Jan se kar is rooi.Afrikaans shows the owner with the separate word se, not with 's.
Putting se after a personal pronoun.
Hy se kar is nuut.Sy kar is nuut.Personal pronouns have their own possessive forms. His is sy, so the sentence is Sy kar is nuut.
Writing possessive se with a kappie.
Jan sê kar is rooi.Jan se kar is rooi.Sê with a kappie is the verb say. The possessive word is se, with no accent.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Possession with se works like a possessive word placed after a name or noun.
Related Patterns
- myne/joune/syne/hare/s'nMine, Yours, Theirs
When the owned noun is left out, se becomes s'n.
Level 2 - wie seWhose: Wie Se
Wie se asks whose something is.
Level 3 - vanOf and from
Van is another way to link a thing to its owner, especially with things.
Level 1 - Noun + -hulleMa-Hulle: Someone and Their People
Ma-hulle se huis is the house of Mom and her family.
Level 3 - ons/julle/hulle + NounPossessives: Our, Your, Their
Our, your and their also come directly before the noun, without se.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Noun + se in Bubblegum
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