daar ... mee
Splitting Daar ... Mee
A word like daarvan can come apart: Daar weet ek niks van nie. (I know nothing about it.) Daar comes early and the preposition moves toward the end.
How It Works
1. How the split works. Start from the joined word and pull it apart:
- Ek het nie daaraan gedink nie. → Daar het ek nie aan gedink nie. (I didn't think of that.)
- Ek weet niks daarvan nie. → Daar weet ek niks van nie. (I know nothing about it.)
2. Where the pieces go. Daar often stands first, so the verb comes straight after it (see verb second). It can also stay in the middle: Ek weet daar niks van nie. The preposition goes as late as it can: before a final ge- form or infinitive, and before the last nie.
3. The changed forms stay. When met, vir and tot split off, they still use mee, voor and toe: Daar is niks mee verkeerd nie. (There is nothing wrong with it.) Hier het ek nie tyd voor nie. (I don't have time for this.)
4. Hier and waar split too. The same happens with hier and waar: Waar dink jy aan? (What are you thinking of?) In casual speech, such questions often use wat: Wat dink jy aan? The joined question, Waaraan dink jy?, is the standard written form.
5. Joined or split? Both are correct. The joined word is the more usual choice in careful writing. The split form is very common in speech, especially in short everyday sentences with niks and nie.
Examples (6)
- Daar weet ek niks van nie.
I know nothing about that.
Word by Word: There know I nothing of not.
- Daar het ek nie aan gedink nie.
I didn't think of that.
Word by Word: There have I not of thought not.
Aan stands just before the ge- form gedink.
- Daar hou ek nie van nie.
I don't like that.
Word by Word: There hold I not of not.
From hou van (like): daarvan splits into daar ... van.
- Daar is niks mee verkeerd nie.
There is nothing wrong with it.
Word by Word: There is nothing with wrong not.
Met keeps its changed form mee when it splits off.
- Hier het ek nie tyd voor nie.
I don't have time for this.
Word by Word: Here have I not time for not.
Vir keeps its changed form voor.
- Ek weet daar niks van nie.
I don't know anything about it.
Word by Word: I know there nothing of not.
Daar can also stand in the middle of the sentence.
Common Mistakes
Putting the preposition after the ge- form.
Daar het ek nie gedink aan nie.Daar het ek nie aan gedink nie.The split preposition goes before the final verbs, not after them.
Using met instead of mee when it splits off.
Daar skryf ek met.Daar skryf ek mee.Met, vir and tot keep their changed forms mee, voor and toe even when split from daar.
Putting the preposition after the final nie.
Daar weet ek niks nie van.Daar weet ek niks van nie.The final nie always closes the sentence, so the preposition comes before it.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Daar and its preposition can be split in a sentence.
Related Patterns
- waarmee/waarop/waarinRelative Waarmee, Waarop, Waarin
Waar words can split in the same way.
Level 3 - waar ... vandaan/heenWhere from and Where to
Another common split with waar at the front.
Level 1 - Verbs With Fixed Prepositions
Many split forms come from verbs with fixed prepositions, such as dink aan and hou van.
Level 3 - nie ... nieDouble Negation
The final nie stays last, after the split preposition.
Level 1 - Verb Second After a Fronted Word
Why the verb follows straight after a fronted daar.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice daar ... mee in Bubblegum
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