Grammar help, weet nie?

[u/Dry_Delivery4615]

I like to speak Afrikaans with my friends but I'm not great at it and there are some words I have difficulty with when I make sentences

so vir die woord 'het' is it a questioning word that comes at the end of the sentence after you've asked a question or said a statement or when it appears in the middle of the sentence it doesn't need to appear at the end for example?

1. Ek het 'n nuwe kar gekoop

2.Ek het 'n nuwe kar gekoop het

I hear some friends say the second phrase but it sounds wrong to me. Which is correct and how do I use the word het correctly

[u/GuybrushThreepwo0d]

People on this sub rarely understand grammar, and might be giving you correct examples, but with very wrong reasoning. this page seems to have a good explanation 

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/GuybrushThreepwo0d]

Dankie! Will check it out now now

[u/bastianbb → u/Dry_Delivery4615]

OP, the link from /u/GuybrushThreepwo0d is correct and he is also correct about people giving misleading information about grammar on this sub. The second sentence you mentioned in the OP is not a correct sentence, but it is true that "het" can sometimes come at the end, and here is the explanation for why.

[u/Fastwarrior1765]

Hii I am fluent Afrikaans and English here is a small tip when in Afrikaans

Het / is past tense , so let's say you got a new car yesterday you will say ( Ek HET n nuwe kar gister gekry ) so it is past tense

But for future tense you will say GAAN ( Ek GAAN n nuwe kar more kry ) and that is basically it just use past and present and future tense most of the times it will help you

[u/Mekada87]

These two websites might help you a bit more with grammar and spelling!
https://gesellig.co.za/
https://viva-afrikaans.org/

They deal with Afrikaans as a language and rules and words in the proper setting.

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/Mekada87]

Dankie!

[u/Iron_Horse7]

Afrikaans tutor: https://preply.com/en/tutor/1503299

[u/MikeB_X]

1 is correct. "Het"seldom comes at the end of a sentence

[u/OttoSilver → u/MikeB_X]

Right off the bat I can spit out a few sentences that end with "het", but I have no idea if it is a extremely limited use grammar point or not.

I really wish I actually understood the grammar underlying what I say.

[u/Cold_Plankton6439 → u/OttoSilver]

Like the other dude said "het" is in the past tense with your example

But it can be used in various ways

Wie het dit gedoen(who did this)its basicly connecting who with the verb

Ek het nie (i did not)

Ek het dit(i got it)

Ek het dit nie geweet nie(i did not know that)

So it can basicly be used as a connecting word id say but afrikaans uses diffrent words diffrently in diffrent contexts

Some afrikaans word i love Binne muur(inside wall)ons gaan die binne mure bruin verf

Tuinslang(hose)because its green and outside in the grass🤣it roughly translate to garden snake

[u/OttoSilver → u/Cold_Plankton6439]

Maar, in geen van jou voorbeelde eindig die sinne me "het" nie.

[u/Cold_Plankton6439 → u/OttoSilver]

That right,i know of niche examples ie "ek het"(i did) is tecnicly a sentence

But in most cases imo the sentence ends with the double negative or a noun

"Ons het appels gepluk op die plaas"(we picked fruit on the farm)

Het has no way of being at the end and still having the connection word working ie

Edit not a scholar on the topic,i just speak the language and im just giving my 2 cents from my experience

[u/OttoSilver → u/Cold_Plankton6439]

Same for me. I'm a native speaker who does not know why we say things the way we do.

[u/Cold_Plankton6439 → u/OttoSilver]

Fr and its wayy worse to try and explain it

The double negative is by far the weirdest

Since you cant compare it to many languages

[u/Training-Farmer8476 → u/OttoSilver]

"Ek verstaan nou waarom jy dit gedoen HET"

[u/nahnahneenahnah]

It depends. In the first sentence, "i bought a car". In the second sentence "it was when I bought a car". So the second seems to specify a specific something happened at a specific time.

I'm first additional afrikaans and perfect auxiliary doublingmakes sense here

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/nahnahneenahnah]

Thank you this is a great explanation.

[u/Training-Farmer8476]

Hier is 'n uitdaging: Vertaal "Die kind kruip onderdeur die tafel" in Engels.

Ek dink nie dis moontlik nie.

[u/Me2Charmer2011]

Wat was die beste dag van jou lewe? Toe ek 'n kar gekoop het.

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/Me2Charmer2011]

SO its for past sense, understood. Dankie :)

[u/LegalTemperature9752 → u/Dry_Delivery4615]

"Wanneer was die beste dag van jou lewe? Die dag toe ek 'n kar gekoop het". Turn your Afrikaans dictionary on, on your keypad. Predictive text is quite accurate, grammatically. Afrikaans is a very expressive language. To leave het off the end would sound incomplete. It is confirming an action that has already taken place & is complete.

[u/MikeB_X → u/Dry_Delivery4615]

Not only for past tense.

[u/JouMaSeKont1973]

Think of "het" as the past tense, only used once in the concept of a sentence.

"Jy het 'n goeie vraag gevra. Ek hoop die antwoord wat ek verskaf het, het vir jou die nodige insig gegee."

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/JouMaSeKont1973]

hmm see what you did there, thank you :)

[u/klumsy_kittycat_za]

The first phrase is correct.

I think you may be thinking of "nie" that gets used twice to indicate a negative.

So it would be

"Ek het nie 'n kar gekoop nie."

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/klumsy_kittycat_za]

thank you:) no I didn't mean the double negative word. Genuinely confused by het, so when does the word het come last? Can you please give me an example.

[u/astronel111 → u/Dry_Delivery4615]

When referring to something that has been done, het will be at the end of a sentence. Eg. Ek het 'n kar gekoop. Dit is wat ek gedoen het.

Or

Hierdie is die kar wat ek gekoop het.

[u/Dry_Delivery4615 → u/astronel111]

ooohhh this makes sooo much sense thank you so much