waarmee/waarop/waarin

Relative Waarmee, Waarop, Waarin

Level 3

To say the chair I sit on or the house we live in, Afrikaans joins waar to the preposition: die stoel waarop jy sit (the chair you are sitting on).

How It Works

1. One word, not two. English can say the pen I write with or the pen with which I write. Standard Afrikaans does not use met wat here. It joins waar and the preposition into one word at the start of the clause:

  • die pen waarmee ek skryf (the pen I write with)
  • die stoel waarop jy sit (the chair you are sitting on)
  • die huis waarin ons woon (the house we live in)
  • die film waaroor almal praat (the film everyone is talking about)

2. Three prepositions change. Met becomes mee, vir becomes voor and tot becomes toe: waarmee, waarvoor, waartoe. The others keep their shape: waarin, waarop, waaroor, waarvan, waaraan, waarna, waaruit, waarby, waaronder.

3. The verb goes to the end. Like every relative clause, this clause sends its verb to the end. When the main sentence continues after it, a comma usually closes the clause: Die stoel waarop ek sit, is hard. (The chair I am sitting on is hard.)

4. Things, not people. Waar + preposition is for things and places. For a person, use the preposition + wie (see preposition + wie): die vrou met wie ek praat (the woman I am talking to).

5. Splitting. Waar and the preposition can also be split, with the preposition just before the final verbs: die pot waar ek die ertjies in gekook het (the pot I cooked the peas in). In casual speech you will even hear wat in place of waar: die pen wat ek mee skryf. The joined form, waarmee, is the safe choice, especially in writing.

Tip: The same words work in questions: Waarmee skryf jy? (What are you writing with?) See daarmee, hiermee and waarmee.

Examples (6)

  1. Die pen waarmee ek skryf, is blou.

    The pen I am writing with is blue.

    Word by Word: The pen where-with I write, is blue.

    Met becomes mee inside waarmee.

  2. Die stoel waarop jy sit, is baie oud.

    The chair you are sitting on is very old.

    Word by Word: The chair where-on you sit, is very old.

  3. Dit is die huis waarin ons woon.

    This is the house we live in.

    Word by Word: It is the house where-in we live.

  4. Die film waaroor almal praat, is baie goed.

    The film everyone is talking about is very good.

    Word by Word: The film where-about everyone talks, is very good.

  5. Die sak waarvoor ek betaal het, is te klein.

    The bag I paid for is too small.

    Word by Word: The bag where-for I paid have, is too small.

    Vir becomes voor inside waarvoor, and both verbs go to the end of the clause.

  6. Ek soek die sleutel waarmee ons die deur oopsluit.

    I am looking for the key we unlock the door with.

    Word by Word: I look-for the key where-with we the door unlock.

    The separable verb oopsluit stays in one piece at the end of the clause.

Common Mistakes

  • Using met wat or op wat after a thing in standard Afrikaans.

    Die pen met wat ek skryf, is blou.
    Die pen waarmee ek skryf, is blou.

    Met wat is heard in speech, but for things standard Afrikaans joins waar and the preposition into one word. Met changes to mee.

  • Writing waarmet instead of waarmee.

    Die mes waarmet ek sny, is skerp.
    Die mes waarmee ek sny, is skerp.

    Met always becomes mee when it joins waar, daar or hier.

  • Keeping the verb in second place inside the clause.

    Die stoel waarop sit jy, is oud.
    Die stoel waarop jy sit, is oud.

    Waarop starts a relative clause, so its verb goes to the end.

How It Connects

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waarmee/waarop/waarinLevel 3Relative Waarmee, Waarop, Waarin

Learn This First

Relative waarmee, waarop and waarin join waar with a preposition.

Words in This Pattern

waarmeewaaropwaarinmeewaar