had/dag/wis/werd/mog
Rare Past Forms
Most verbs form the past with het ... ge-, but a few keep an old one-word past: Ek dag jy is siek. (I thought you were sick.)
How It Works
1. Background. In everyday Afrikaans the past is formed with het + ge-: Ek het gedink. Only was and the modal pasts (kon, moes, wou and sou) are normal one-word pasts. A few more survive, mostly in writing.
2. The forms.
- dag / dog (thought), from dink: Ek dag jy is siek. (I thought you were sick.) Both forms are used, and both are common in speech.
- had (had), from hê: Sy had geen idee nie. (She had no idea.) This is rare and literary; speech says Sy het geen idee gehad nie.
- wis (knew), from weet: Hy wis nie wat om te sê nie. (He didn't know what to say.) Everyday: Hy het nie geweet wat om te sê nie.
- werd (became), from word: Dit werd stil in die saal. (It became quiet in the hall.) This is the rarest form, found mainly in older texts. Everyday: Dit het stil geword.
- mog (was allowed), from mag: Die kinders mog nie buite speel nie. (The children were not allowed to play outside.) Everyday: Hulle is nie toegelaat nie.
3. Dag means believed. Dag and dog only mean thought in the sense of believed or assumed, often about something that turned out to be wrong. For thinking about someone or something, use het ... gedink: Ek het die hele dag aan jou gedink. (I thought about you all day.)
4. Two words spelled werd. Do not confuse the old past werd (became) with the everyday adjective werd (worth): Dit is die moeite werd. (It is worth the trouble.)
Examples (6)
- Ek dag jy is siek.
I thought you were sick.
Word by Word: I thought you are sick.
Dag means het gedink here. It is common in everyday speech.
- Ons dog die winkel is oop, maar dit was toe.
We thought the shop was open, but it was closed.
Word by Word: We thought the shop is open, but it was closed.
- Sy had geen idee wat om te doen nie.
She had no idea what to do.
Word by Word: She had no idea what for to do not.
Had sounds literary. Speech says: Sy het geen idee gehad nie.
- Hy wis nie wat om te sê nie.
He didn't know what to say.
Word by Word: He knew not what for to say not.
- Dit werd stil in die saal.
It became quiet in the hall.
Word by Word: It became quiet in the hall.
An archaic form, found mainly in older texts. Everyday: Dit het stil geword in die saal.
- Die kinders mog nie buite speel nie.
The children were not allowed to play outside.
Word by Word: The children were-allowed not outside play not.
Common Mistakes
Using dag for thinking about someone.
Ek dag die hele dag aan jou.Ek het die hele dag aan jou gedink.Dag and dog only mean believed or assumed. For thinking about someone or something, use het ... gedink.
Making a participle from wis.
Ek het dit gewis.Ek het dit geweet.Wis is a one-word past and never goes with het. The participle of weet is geweet. Gewis is a different word that means certainly.
Giving mog a participle (intended meaning: I was not allowed).
Ek het nie gemog nie.Ek is nie toegelaat nie.Modal verbs such as mag have no participle. Use mog, or more naturally is nie toegelaat nie.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A few rare past forms survive, like the modal past forms.
Related Patterns
- wasWas: The Past of Is
The one old past form that everyone uses daily.
Level 2 - het + ge-The Past Tense: Het + Ge-
The normal way to form the past, which replaces these old forms in speech.
Level 2 - word (Become)To Become: Word
Werd is the old past of word.
Level 2 - magMay
Mog is the old past of mag.
Level 1 - Literary and Biblical Afrikaans
Had, wis and werd appear mostly in literary texts.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice had/dag/wis/werd/mog in Bubblegum
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