Verbs
There is no distinction for example between the infinitive and present forms of verbs, with the exception of these verbs:
| infinitive form | English | present indicative form |
|---|---|---|
| wees | be | is |
| hê | have | het |
In addition, verbs do not conjugate differently depending on the subject. For example,
| Afrikaans | Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|
| ek is | ik ben | I am |
| jy/u is | jij/U bent | you are (sing.) |
| hy/sy/dit is | hij/zij/het is | he/she/it is |
| ons is | wij zijn | we are |
| julle is | jullie zijn | you are (plur.) |
| hulle is | zij zijn | they are |
For most verbs, the preterite (e.g. I watched) has been completely replaced by the perfect (e.g. I have watched). The only common exceptions to this are the modal verbs (see the following table) and the verb wees "be" (preterite form was).
| Modal verbs | |||||
| present form | preterite form | ||||
| Afrikaans | Dutch (3sg) | English | Afrikaans | Dutch (3sg) | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kan | kan | can | kon | kon | could |
| sal | zal | will/shall | sou | zou | would/should |
| moet | moet | must | moes | moest | had to |
| mag | mag | may | mog (arch.) | mocht | was allowed to |
| wil | wil | want | wou | wilde / wou | wanted |
The following three full verbs also have (rarely used) preterite forms:
| Afrikaans | Dutch (3sg) | English | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| present | preterite | present | preterite | |
| dink | dag/dog | denkt | dacht | think |
| het | had | heeft | had | have |
| weet | wis | weet | wist | know |
Modern Afrikaans also lacks a pluperfect (e.g. I had watched). Instead, the pluperfect, like the preterite, is expressed using the perfect.
The perfect is constructed with the auxiliary verb het + past participle, which—except for the verb hê (past participle gehad), separable verbs such as reghelp (past participle reggehelp) and verbs with beginnings such as ver- and ont- (verkoop, ontmoet are both infinitive and past participle)—is formed regularly by adding the prefix ge- to the verb's infinitive/present form. For example,
- Ek breek - I break
- Ek het dit gebreek - I broke it, I have broken it, I had broken it
An object is necessary in this case, otherwise it implies that the person has broken.
The future tense is in turn indicated using the auxiliary sal + infinitive. For example,
- Ek sal kom - I will come (or more closely I shall come)
The conditional is indicated by the preterite form sou + infinitive. For example,
- Ek sou kom - I would come (or more closely I should come)
Like other Germanic languages, Afrikaans also has an analytic passive voice that is formed in the present tense by using the auxiliary verb word + past participle, and, in the past tense, by using the auxiliary is + past participle. For example,
- Dit word gemaak - It is being made
- Dit is (Dis) gemaak - It is made, It was made, It has been made (so it already exists)
Formal written Afrikaans also admits the construction of was gemaak to indicate passive voice in the pluperfect, which in this case corresponds to had been made. The meaning of the sentence can change based on which auxiliary verb is used(is/was), e.g. is gemaak implies that something has been made and is still in existence today, whereas was gemaak implies that something had been made, but was destroyed or lost.
Read more about this topic: Afrikaans Grammar
Famous quotes containing the word verbs:
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—Alexander Theroux (b. 1940)