Afrikaans Adverbs
Learning the Afrikaans Adverbs is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Afrikaans language. But first we need to know what the role of Adverbs is in the structure of the grammar in Afrikaans.
Afrikaans adverbs are part of speech. Generally they're words that modify any part of language other than a noun. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs.
Grammar Tips:
While in English adverbs are usually formed
by adding (-ly) to adjectives. In Afrikaans adverbs are used to modify
clauses, phrases and sentences directly. There are adverbs of time, place,
manner and frequency. Adverbs
can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other
adverbs. Here are some examples:
I read a book sometimes. Ek lees soms ’n boek.
Versigtig (carefully) stays versigtig.
We had guests last night. Ons het gister aand gaste gehad.
Stadig (slow) stays stadig (slowly)
Perfek (perfect) stays perfek (perfectly)
Some words are adverbs by nature.
For example:
Nou (now), regtig (really), and binnekort (soon) are all Afrikaans
adverbs.
Here are some examples:
| English Adverbs | Afrikaans Adverbs |
| adverbs | bywoorde |
| I read a book sometimes | Ek lees soms n' boek |
| I will never smoke | Ek sal nooit rook nie |
| are you alone? | is jy alleen? |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Adverbs in Afrikaans has a logical pattern. Locate the Adverbs above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Afrikaans.
List of Adverbs in Afrikaans
Below is a list of the Adverbs of time place manner and frequency in Afrikaans placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Afrikaans vocabulary.
| English Adverbs | Afrikaans Adverbs |
| adverbs of time | bywoorde van tyd |
| yesterday | gister |
| today | vandag |
| tomorrow | môre |
| now | nou |
| then | toe |
| later | later |
| tonight | vanaand |
| right now | nou |
| last night | gister aand |
| this morning | van oggend |
| next week | volgende week |
| already | al reeds |
| recently | onlangs |
| lately | die afgelope tyd |
| soon | binnekort |
| immediately | onmiddellik |
| still | nog altyd |
| yet | Nog |
| ago | gelede |
| |
| adverbs of place | bywoorde van plek |
| here | hier |
| there | daar |
| over there | daar |
| everywhere | oral |
| anywhere | enige plek |
| nowhere | nêrens |
| home | huis |
| away | weg |
| out | uit |
| |
| adverbs of manner | bywoorde van die wyse |
| very | baie |
| quite | nogal baie |
| pretty | mooi |
| really | werklik / regtig |
| fast | vinnig |
| well | goed |
| hard | harde |
| quickly | vinnig |
| slowly | stadig |
| carefully | versigtig |
| hardly | skaars |
| barely | skaars |
| mostly | meestal |
| almost | byna |
| absolutely | absoluut |
| together | saam |
| alone | alleen |
| |
| adverbs of frequency | bywoorde van die frekwensie |
| always | altyd |
| frequently | dikwils |
| usually | gewoonlik |
| sometimes | soms |
| occasionally | Soms |
| seldom | selde |
| rarely | selde |
| never | nooit |
Adverbs of time place manner and frequency have a very important role in Afrikaans, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Afrikaans Adverbs, you might want to check the rest of our Afrikaans lessons here: Learn Afrikaans. Don't forget to bookmark this page.