Verbs Together at the End

Level 3

At the end of a clause, het follows the ge- form: dat hy gewerk het. A modal comes before the infinitive: omdat ek moet werk, dat sy sal kom.

How It Works

1. All verbs at the end. After a joining word such as dat, omdat or as, the verbs go to the end of the clause (verb at the end). When there is more than one verb, their order matters.

2. Het comes last. In the past with het + ge-, het goes after the ge- form:

  • Ek weet dat hy gister gewerk het. (I know that he worked yesterday.)
  • Die boek wat ek gelees het, was baie goed. (The book that I read was very good.)

3. A modal comes first. Kan, moet, wil, mag, sal, sou and gaan come before the infinitive, as in English:

  • Ek bly by die huis omdat ek moet werk. (I am staying home because I have to work.)
  • Sy sê dat sy môre sal kom. (She says that she will come tomorrow.)

4. Three verbs. Put the helpers in English order, but keep het last:

  • Ek dink dat ons sal moet wag. (I think that we will have to wait.)
  • Ek weet dat jy my moes gebel het. (I know that you should have called me.) See moes ... het.

5. In a main clause. The first verb stays in second place, and the other verbs go to the end in the same order: Ek sal môre moet werk. (I will have to work tomorrow.) Hy kon dit gedoen het. (He could have done it.)

6. With nie. The second nie comes after all the verbs: Ek weet dat hy nie gewerk het nie.

Tip: think het last, modal first.

Examples (6)

  1. Ek weet dat hy gister gewerk het.

    I know that he worked yesterday.

    Word by Word: I know that he yesterday worked has.

    Het goes after the ge- form gewerk.

  2. Ek bly by die huis omdat ek moet werk.

    I am staying home because I have to work.

    Word by Word: I stay at the house because I must work.

    The modal moet comes before the infinitive werk.

  3. Sy sê dat sy môre sal kom.

    She says that she will come tomorrow.

    Word by Word: She says that she tomorrow will come.

  4. Ek dink dat ons sal moet wag.

    I think that we will have to wait.

    Word by Word: I think that we will must wait.

  5. Ek weet dat jy my moes gebel het.

    I know that you should have called me.

    Word by Word: I know that you me should called have.

    The modal moes comes first and het comes last.

  6. Ek sal môre moet werk.

    I will have to work tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I will tomorrow must work.

    In a main clause, sal stays second and moet werk goes to the end.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting het in front of the ge- form, as in English has worked.

    Ek weet dat hy het gewerk.
    Ek weet dat hy gewerk het.

    At the end of a clause, het always comes after the ge- form.

  • Putting the modal after the infinitive, as in German or Dutch.

    Ek bly by die huis omdat ek werk moet.
    Ek bly by die huis omdat ek moet werk.

    In Afrikaans a modal such as moet, kan or sal comes before the infinitive.

  • Putting sal after the infinitive.

    Sy sê dat sy môre kom sal.
    Sy sê dat sy môre sal kom.

    Sal works like a modal, so it comes before the infinitive at the end of the clause.

How It Connects

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Verbs Together at the EndLevel 3

Learn This First

Verb clusters combine subordinate order with the different positions of modals and the past auxiliary het.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

moetkansal