wanneer

When: Wanneer

Level 2

Wanneer means when or whenever and joins two clauses. Its verb moves to the end: Bel my wanneer jy klaar is. (Call me when you are done.)

How It Works

1. The verb goes to the end. Like dat and omdat, wanneer sends the verb of its own clause to the end (see verb at the end):

  • Bel my wanneer jy klaar is. (Call me when you are done.)
  • Ek drink koffie wanneer ek moeg is. (I drink coffee when I am tired.)

2. Starting with wanneer. When the wanneer clause comes first, it fills the first place of the sentence. The main clause then starts with its verb: Wanneer dit reën, bly ons binne. (When it rains, we stay inside.)

3. Present, future and repeated events. Wanneer works for now, for later and for habits. It often carries the sense of whenever: Wanneer ek stad toe gaan, neem ek altyd die bus. (Whenever I go to town, I always take the bus.) It can also describe something that happened again and again in the past: Wanneer dit gereën het, het ons binne gespeel. (Whenever it rained, we played inside.)

4. Not for one past event. For something that happened once in the past, use toe: Toe ek by die huis kom, was die deur oop. (When I got home, the door was open.)

5. Wanneer and as. For the present and future, as means much the same thing and is very common in speech: Bel my as jy klaar is. Wanneer sounds a little more careful, and it points more clearly to whenever.

Tip: wanneer is also the question word when?: Wanneer kom jy? As a question word the verb comes straight after it. As a joining word the verb goes to the end.

Examples (6)

  1. Bel my wanneer jy klaar is.

    Call me when you are done.

    Word by Word: Call me when you finished are.

    The verb is moves to the end of the wanneer clause.

  2. Wanneer dit reën, bly ons binne.

    When it rains, we stay inside.

    Word by Word: When it rains, stay we inside.

    The wanneer clause comes first, so the main clause starts with its verb bly.

  3. Wanneer ek stad toe gaan, neem ek altyd die bus.

    Whenever I go to town, I always take the bus.

    Word by Word: When I town to go, take I always the bus.

    Here wanneer means whenever: this happens every time.

  4. Ek drink koffie wanneer ek moeg is.

    I drink coffee when I am tired.

    Word by Word: I drink coffee when I tired am.

  5. Laat weet my wanneer jy by die huis is.

    Let me know when you are home.

    Word by Word: Let know me when you at the house are.

  6. Wanneer dit gereën het, het ons binne gespeel.

    Whenever it rained, we played inside.

    Word by Word: When it rained has, have we inside played.

    This happened many times in the past, so wanneer is correct here, not toe.

Common Mistakes

  • Using wanneer for one single event in the past.

    Wanneer ek gister by die huis gekom het, was die deur oop.
    Toe ek gister by die huis gekom het, was die deur oop.

    Gister points to one event that happened once. For that, Afrikaans uses toe. Wanneer is for the present, the future and repeated events.

  • Keeping the verb in second place after wanneer.

    Bel my wanneer jy is klaar.
    Bel my wanneer jy klaar is.

    Wanneer starts a subordinate clause, so its verb goes to the end.

  • Putting the subject first after a wanneer clause.

    Wanneer dit reën, ons bly binne.
    Wanneer dit reën, bly ons binne.

    The whole wanneer clause counts as the first place, so the main verb comes next and the subject follows it.

How It Connects

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

wanneerLevel 2When: Wanneer

Learn This First

Wanneer can also join clauses, sending the verb to the end.

Words in This Pattern

wanneer