sal kan/sou kon

Two Modals Together

Level 4

First modal in second place, second modal at the end before the verb: Ek sal môre kan kom. (I will be able to come tomorrow.)

How It Works

1. English has a gap, Afrikaans does not. English cannot say will can, so it uses will be able to. Afrikaans simply puts two modals together:

  • sal kan: will be able to. Ek sal môre kan kom.
  • sal moet: will have to. Hy sal moet werk.
  • sou kon or sou kan: would be able to, could. Jy sou dit kon doen.
  • sou wil: would like to. Ek sou graag wil help.

2. Word order in a main clause. The first modal takes second place. The second modal and the infinitive go to the end, with the modal first: Ons sal nie langer kan wag nie. (We won't be able to wait any longer.) The order at the end matches English: kan wag, like be able to wait (see verb cluster order).

3. In a subordinate clause all the verbs gather at the end, and the first modal still comes first: Sy sê dat sy môre sal kan help. (She says that she will be able to help tomorrow.)

4. Kan or kon after sou? After sal, use the present form: sal kan, sal moet. After sou, both kan and kon are used: Sou jy my kan help? and Jy sou dit kon doen are both correct (see polite requests with sou).

Tip: Afrikaans modals have no special infinitive form, so the second modal simply looks like the present: kan, moet, wil.

Examples (6)

  1. Ek sal môre kan kom.

    I will be able to come tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I will tomorrow can come.

  2. Jy sou dit kon doen.

    You would be able to do it.

    Word by Word: You would it could do.

  3. Hy sal moet werk.

    He will have to work.

    Word by Word: He will must work.

  4. Ons sal nie langer kan wag nie.

    We won't be able to wait any longer.

    Word by Word: We will not longer can wait not.

  5. Sy sê dat sy môre sal kan help.

    She says that she will be able to help tomorrow.

    Word by Word: She says that she tomorrow will can help.

    In the dat-clause, sal comes first, then kan, then help.

  6. Ek sou graag wil help.

    I would like to help.

    Word by Word: I would gladly want help.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the second modal next to the first.

    Ek sal kan môre kom.
    Ek sal môre kan kom.

    Only the first modal takes second place. The second one goes to the end with the infinitive.

  • Putting the modal after the infinitive.

    Ek sal môre kom kan.
    Ek sal môre kan kom.

    Unlike German, Afrikaans puts the modal before the infinitive: kan kom.

  • Swapping the modals in a subordinate clause.

    Sy sê dat sy môre kan sal help.
    Sy sê dat sy môre sal kan help.

    The verbs keep their order at the end: the first modal, then the second modal, then the infinitive.

How It Connects

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

sal kan/sou konLevel 4Two Modals Together

Learn This First

Two modals can share a clause, with the first finite and the second before the main infinitive.

Words in This Pattern

salkansoukon