welke

Welke: Literary Which

Level 6

Welke means which (old, formal): Welke kind het dit gedoen? Everyday: Watter kind het dit gedoen?

How It Works

1. A formal which. Welke asks which in the same way as watter, but it sounds old or formal:

  • Welke kind het dit gedoen? (Which child did it?)
  • Welke van hierdie twee verkies u? (Which of these two do you prefer?)

2. Set phrases. Welke lives on in a few fixed expressions in formal writing:

  • in welke mate (to what extent), also in watter mate
  • op welke grond (on what grounds)
  • in welke geval (in which case)

3. In welke geval. This phrase links a new clause to the whole previous idea, like wat referring to a whole clause. The verbs go to the end: Dit kan dalk reën, in welke geval die funksie binne sal plaasvind. (It may rain, in which case the function will take place indoors.) In watter geval is also correct here and appears even in laws; in welke geval sounds more formal. In everyday language, people usually say it another way: ... en in daardie geval sal die funksie binne plaasvind.

4. Always welke. Unlike Dutch, Afrikaans has only the form welke, never welk. To start a relative clause, as in the book which I read, modern Afrikaans uses wat: die boek wat ek gelees het.

Welke belongs to the styles described in legal and official Afrikaans and literary and biblical Afrikaans.

Examples (5)

  1. Welke kind het dit gedoen?

    Which child did it?

    Word by Word: Which child has it done?

  2. In welke mate het die situasie verbeter?

    To what extent has the situation improved?

    Word by Word: In which measure has the situation improved?

  3. Dit kan dalk reën, in welke geval die funksie binne sal plaasvind.

    It may rain, in which case the function will take place indoors.

    Word by Word: It can perhaps rain, in which case the function inside will take-place.

    Here in welke geval links the clause to the whole previous idea, and the verbs go to the end.

  4. Op welke grond maak u hierdie eis?

    On what grounds are you making this claim?

    Word by Word: On which ground make you this claim?

  5. Welke van hierdie twee verkies u?

    Which of these two do you prefer?

    Word by Word: Which of these two prefer you?

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Dutch form welk.

    Welk kind het dit gedoen?
    Welke kind het dit gedoen?

    Afrikaans has only the form welke. In everyday language, watter kind is the natural choice.

  • Keeping the verb in second place after in welke geval.

    Dit kan dalk reën, in welke geval sal die funksie binne plaasvind.
    Dit kan dalk reën, in welke geval die funksie binne sal plaasvind.

    In welke geval starts a relative clause, so the verbs go to the end, just as after wat.

How It Connects

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welkeLevel 6Welke: Literary Which

Learn This First

Welke is a literary form of watter.

Words in This Pattern

welkemate