sonder

Without: Sonder

Level 2

Sonder means without: Ek drink my koffie sonder suiker. (I drink my coffee without sugar.)

How It Works

1. Before a noun.

  • koffie sonder suiker (coffee without sugar)
  • Hy het sonder 'n jas gegaan. (He went without a coat.)
  • Hulle het die huis sonder hulp geverf. (They painted the house without help.)

2. Before a pronoun. Like other prepositions, sonder takes the object form of a pronoun (my, jou, hom, haar): Ons het sonder hom begin. (We started without him.)

3. No extra nie. Sonder already means without, so you do not add geen or nie to it: koffie sonder suiker. If the whole sentence is negative, the usual double nie still applies: Ek kan nie sonder jou leef nie. (I can't live without you.)

4. At the start. A sonder phrase can come first. The verb then comes next (verb second): Sonder my bril sien ek niks nie. (Without my glasses I can't see anything.)

5. Without doing. Before a verb, use sonder om te: Hy het gegaan sonder om te groet. (He left without saying goodbye.)

Tip: sonder is the opposite of met: koffie met melk, koffie sonder melk.

Examples (6)

  1. Ek drink my koffie sonder suiker.

    I drink my coffee without sugar.

    Word by Word: I drink my coffee without sugar.

  2. Hy het sonder 'n jas gegaan.

    He went without a coat.

    Word by Word: He has without a coat gone.

  3. Ek kan nie sonder jou leef nie.

    I can't live without you.

    Word by Word: I can not without you live not.

    The sentence is negative, so it has two nie. Sonder itself adds no nie.

  4. Sonder my bril sien ek niks nie.

    Without my glasses I can't see anything.

    Word by Word: Without my glasses see I nothing not.

    The sonder phrase comes first, so the verb sien comes next.

  5. Ons het sonder hom begin.

    We started without him.

    Word by Word: We have without him begun.

  6. Hulle het die huis sonder hulp geverf.

    They painted the house without help.

    Word by Word: They have the house without help painted.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a subject pronoun after sonder.

    Ek kan nie sonder hy klaarkom nie.
    Ek kan nie sonder hom klaarkom nie.

    After a preposition such as sonder, use the object form: hom, haar, my, jou, ons, julle, hulle.

  • Putting a verb straight after sonder.

    Hy het my fiets geneem sonder vra.
    Hy het my fiets geneem sonder om te vra.

    Sonder alone goes before a noun or pronoun. Vra is a verb, so it needs sonder om te.

  • Adding extra negative words after sonder.

    Ek drink koffie sonder geen suiker nie.
    Ek drink koffie sonder suiker.

    Sonder already means without. Adding geen and nie makes the sentence say something confusing.

How It Connects

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

sonderLevel 2Without: Sonder

Learn This First

Sonder is the opposite of met.

Words in This Pattern

sonder