Unreal Past Conditions

Level 4

As ek geweet het, sou ek gekom het. (If I had known, I would have come.) Both halves talk about a past that did not happen.

How It Works

1. Two halves.

  • Condition: as + ge- form + het at the end: As ek dit geweet het ... (If I had known it ...)
  • Result: sou + ge- form + het: ... sou ek gekom het. (... I would have come.)

Afrikaans has no separate form for English had known. The normal past, geweet het, does the job, and sou in the other half shows that this is only imagined.

2. Word order. When the as-clause comes first, it fills first place, so the main clause starts with sou (see subordinate clause first): As jy vroeër vertrek het, sou jy die bus gehaal het. The main clause can also come first: Ek sou jou gehelp het as jy my gevra het. (I would have helped you if you had asked me.)

3. Negatives. The closing nie comes after het: As ons 'n kaart gehad het, sou ons nie verdwaal het nie. (If we had had a map, we would not have got lost.)

4. Past cause, present result. The result can be about now, with sou + infinitive: As ek ontbyt geëet het, sou ek nou nie so honger wees nie. (If I had eaten breakfast, I would not be so hungry now.)

5. Without as. In careful writing the condition can start with het: Het ek dit geweet, sou ek gekom het. See verb-first conditions.

Examples (6)

  1. As ek geweet het, sou ek gekom het.

    If I had known, I would have come.

    Word by Word: If I known have, would I come have.

  2. As jy vroeër vertrek het, sou jy die bus gehaal het.

    If you had left earlier, you would have caught the bus.

    Word by Word: If you earlier left have, would you the bus caught have.

  3. Ek sou jou gehelp het as jy my gevra het.

    I would have helped you if you had asked me.

    Word by Word: I would you helped have if you me asked have.

    The main clause comes first, so it keeps normal word order.

  4. As ons 'n kaart gehad het, sou ons nie verdwaal het nie.

    If we had had a map, we would not have got lost.

    Word by Word: If we a map had have, would we not lost-got have not.

  5. As ek ontbyt geëet het, sou ek nou nie so honger wees nie.

    If I had eaten breakfast, I would not be so hungry now.

    Word by Word: If I breakfast eaten have, would I now not so hungry be not.

    A past cause with a result about now: sou + infinitive in the main clause.

  6. Het ek dit geweet, sou ek gekom het.

    Had I known it, I would have come.

    Word by Word: Had I it known, would I come have.

    A more formal version that starts with het instead of as.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving het out of the result.

    As ek geweet het, sou ek gekom.
    As ek geweet het, sou ek gekom het.

    Would have is sou + ge- form + het, so het must close the main clause too.

  • Starting the main clause with the subject.

    As ek geweet het, ek sou gekom het.
    As ek geweet het, sou ek gekom het.

    The as-clause fills first place, so sou comes next and the subject follows.

  • Keeping het in second place inside the as-clause.

    As ek het geweet, sou ek gekom het.
    As ek geweet het, sou ek gekom het.

    As sends the verb to the end of its clause, so het comes after geweet.

How It Connects

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Unreal Past ConditionsLevel 4

Learn This First

Unreal past conditions combine as ... sou with sou ... het.

Words in This Pattern

assou