wil
Want to
Wil means want to. The verb for the action goes to the end: Ek wil slaap. (I want to sleep.)
How It Works
One form for everyone. Ek wil, jy wil, sy wil, ons wil, hulle wil. Wil never takes an ending.
The other verb goes last. Wil stands in second place, and the verb for the action closes the clause. Objects, time words and places fit in between: Ek wil môre strand toe gaan. (I want to go to the beach tomorrow.) See Modal Verb Word Order.
- Questions start with wil: Wil jy koffie drink? (Do you want to drink coffee?)
- After a question word, wil comes next: Wat wil jy eet? (What do you want to eat?)
- A negative sentence has nie after wil and most time words, and a second nie at the end: Sy wil vandag nie werk nie. See Double Negation.
No om te. English says want to go, but Afrikaans puts nothing between: Ek wil gaan, never Ek wil om te gaan.
Wil is not will. Ek wil kom means I want to come. To say something will happen or to make a promise, use sal: Ek sal kom.
Wanting a thing. To want an object, standard Afrikaans closes the clause with hê: Ek wil 'n koppie koffie hê. See wil ... hê. After wil, is becomes wees: Ek wil gelukkig wees. See is/wees.
Being polite. Adding graag makes a wish sound friendly and polite: Ek wil graag help. (I would like to help.) See graag.
Wil on its own. When the action is already clear, wil can stand alone: Kom saam as jy wil. (Come along if you want.) Ja, ek wil! (Yes, I want to!)
In the past wil becomes wou: Sy wou huis toe gaan. See kon/moes/wou.
Examples (6)
- Ek wil slaap.
I want to sleep.
Word by Word: I want sleep.
- Wil jy koffie drink?
Do you want to drink coffee?
Word by Word: Want you coffee drink?
In a yes/no question, wil comes first and the other verb still goes to the end.
- Ons wil môre strand toe gaan.
We want to go to the beach tomorrow.
Word by Word: We want tomorrow beach to go.
The time word and the place come between wil and gaan.
- Sy wil vandag nie werk nie.
She doesn't want to work today.
Word by Word: She wants today not work not.
- Wat wil julle eet?
What do you want to eat?
Word by Word: What want you-all eat?
Julle is the plural you, for more than one person.
- Hy wil 'n dokter word.
He wants to become a doctor.
Word by Word: He wants a doctor become.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the English word order and putting the verb right after wil.
Ek wil drink koffie.Ek wil koffie drink.The verb for the action always goes to the end of the clause, after the object.
Adding om te after wil.
Ek wil om te slaap.Ek wil slaap.Modal verbs such as wil take the plain verb directly. Om te is used after other verbs, such as probeer.
Using wil to mean will. The speaker wants to promise to call tomorrow.
Ek wil jou môre bel.Ek sal jou môre bel.Ek wil jou môre bel is correct Afrikaans, but it means I want to call you tomorrow. A promise or a plain future uses sal.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Wil follows the modal word order pattern.
Related Patterns
- salWill
Sal means will. Learners often confuse it with wil, which means want.
Level 1 - wil ... hêWanting Things: Wil ... Hê
To want a thing instead of an action, put the thing between wil and hê.
Level 1 - graagGraag (Like Doing)
Wil graag is the usual polite way to say would like.
Level 1 - kon/moes/wouModals in the Past
Wou is the past form of wil: Sy wou gaan.
Level 2 - kanCan
Kan is another modal with exactly the same word order.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice wil in Bubblegum
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