Correlative conjunctions come in matched pairs that bracket two parallel elements: either…or, neither…nor, both…and, the more…the more. Afrikaans has a full set of these, and the governing principle is parallelism — whatever grammatical shape you put after the first half, you must mirror after the second. Three of these frames behave in ways English speakers stumble over: nóg…nóg carries its own negation (so you add no extra nie), sowel…as uses two different little words rather than one repeated word, and hoe…hoe expresses "the more…the more" with bare comparatives and no word for "the." Get the frames right and you instantly sound more fluent and more precise.
of … of — either … or
of … of is "either … or." The two of's flank the two alternatives, which should be grammatically the same kind of thing (two nouns, two clauses, two verbs).
Of jy of ek moet gaan.
Either you or I have to go.
Ons kan of fliek toe gaan of by die huis bly.
We can either go to the cinema or stay home.
Of dit reën, of die son skyn — ons stap.
Either it rains or the sun shines — we're walking.
A single of on its own already means "or"; doubling it up into of … of is what produces the emphatic, exclusive "either … or," forcing a choice between exactly two options.
nóg … nóg — neither … nor (it is already negative)
This is the frame to study hardest. nóg … nóg means "neither … nor," and the crucial thing is that it is inherently negative. The word nóg itself carries the negation, so you do not add the closing nie that ordinary Afrikaans negation requires. This is a genuine exception to the double-nie rule, and it trips up nearly everyone.
Ek wil nóg vis nóg vleis hê.
I want neither fish nor meat.
Nóg sy nóg haar broer was daar.
Neither she nor her brother was there.
Hy het nóg geld nóg tyd.
He has neither money nor time.
Sy luister nóg na my nóg na haar ma.
She listens neither to me nor to her mother.
Because nóg … nóg is already negative, adding a closing nie is the single most common error here. The sentence is complete and negative without it.
sowel … as — both … and
"Both … and" is sowel … as (slightly formal, common in careful speech and writing) or, more colloquially, beide … en. Note that sowel … as is not a repeated word: the first half is sowel and the second half is as. This asymmetry catches learners who expect "X … X" like of … of.
Sowel jy as ek is genooi.
Both you and I are invited.
Die plan geld vir sowel die kinders as die volwassenes.
The plan applies to both the children and the adults.
Beide my ouers en my suster kom kuier.
Both my parents and my sister are coming to visit.
A subtle point: sowel … as stresses that each of the two equally holds — it is closer to "X as well as Y," which is in fact where the words come from (sowel ≈ "as well"). Use beide … en when you simply want a plain "both … and" in everyday speech.
hetsy … hetsy — whether … or
hetsy … hetsy is "whether … or," used (formal) to present two possibilities that don't affect the outcome. It belongs to careful or written register; in casual speech people more often say of … of or rephrase with of.
Hetsy ryk hetsy arm, almal is welkom.
Whether rich or poor, everyone is welcome.
Ons gaan voort, hetsy hulle saamstem hetsy nie.
We're going ahead, whether they agree or not.
nie net … nie maar ook — not only … but also
"Not only … but also" is nie net … (nie) maar ook. This frame interacts with Afrikaans negation: the first clause is negated with nie net … nie, then maar ook ("but also") introduces the additive second element. In practice the closing nie of the first clause is often present, then maar ook picks up the rest.
Sy is nie net mooi nie, maar ook slim.
She is not only beautiful, but also clever.
Ons het nie net die wedstryd gewen nie, maar ook 'n rekord opgestel.
We not only won the match, but also set a record.
Hy praat nie net Afrikaans nie, maar ook Frans en Zoeloe.
He speaks not only Afrikaans, but also French and Zulu.
You may also see the synonym nie alleen … nie maar ook with alleen ("only") in place of net; nie net is the more everyday choice.
hoe … hoe — the more … the more
This is the elegant one, and the place where Afrikaans is markedly leaner than English. To say "the more X, the more Y," Afrikaans uses hoe + comparative … hoe + comparative, with no word for "the" at all. English needs the … the; Afrikaans needs nothing extra — just hoe before each comparative.
| English | Afrikaans |
|---|---|
| The older, the wiser | Hoe ouer, hoe wyser |
| The more, the better | Hoe meer, hoe beter |
| The sooner, the better | Hoe gouer, hoe beter |
| The harder you work, the more you earn | Hoe harder jy werk, hoe meer verdien jy |
Hoe ouer hoe wyser.
The older, the wiser.
Hoe meer hoe beter.
The more, the better.
Hoe harder jy werk, hoe meer verdien jy.
The harder you work, the more you earn.
Hoe langer ons wag, hoe duurder word dit.
The longer we wait, the more expensive it gets.
The deep point: where English bolts a definite article ("the") onto each comparative to build this construction, Afrikaans uses the question-word hoe ("how") doubled. Reading it literally — "how older, how wiser" — feels odd to an English ear, but it is the standard, fixed pattern. Trying to insert a "the" (die ouer, die wyser) is wrong.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek wil nóg vis nóg vleis hê nie.
Incorrect — nóg…nóg is already negative; don't add a closing nie.
✅ Ek wil nóg vis nóg vleis hê.
I want neither fish nor meat.
❌ Nog sy nog haar broer was daar.
Incorrect — without accents this reads as 'still'; the conjunction is nóg…nóg.
✅ Nóg sy nóg haar broer was daar.
Neither she nor her brother was there.
❌ Sowel jy sowel ek is genooi.
Incorrect — the frame is sowel … as, not sowel … sowel.
✅ Sowel jy as ek is genooi.
Both you and I are invited.
❌ Die ouer, die wyser.
Incorrect — Afrikaans uses hoe…hoe with no word for 'the'.
✅ Hoe ouer, hoe wyser.
The older, the wiser.
❌ Sy is nie net mooi maar ook slim.
Often incomplete — the first clause normally closes with nie before maar ook.
✅ Sy is nie net mooi nie, maar ook slim.
She is not only beautiful, but also clever.
Key takeaways
- of … of = "either … or"; nóg … nóg = "neither … nor."
- nóg … nóg is inherently negative — it takes its acute accents (to distinguish it from nog, "still") and needs no closing nie.
- "Both … and" is sowel … as (note the two different words) or colloquial beide … en; "whether … or" is the formal hetsy … hetsy.
- "Not only … but also" is nie net … nie maar ook, working with the negation frame.
- hoe … hoe builds "the more … the more" with bare comparatives and no word for "the", usually triggering verb-second order in the second half. For single conjunctions, see coordinating and subordinating.
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Coordinating: en, maar, of, wantA2 — The coordinating conjunctions en, maar, of, and want keep normal main-clause word order — and want's coordinating status is exactly why it differs from omdat.
- Subordinating: dat, omdat, as, toe, terwyl, sodatB1 — The conjunctions that introduce a dependent clause — dat, omdat, as, toe, terwyl, sodat and friends — and the one rule they all share: they send the finite verb to the very end of their clause.
- Conjunctions: OverviewA2 — Why Afrikaans conjunctions are best sorted by their word-order effect — coordinators keep normal order, subordinators force the verb to the end, and a third group triggers inversion.
- Comparatives: -er and meerA2 — How Afrikaans builds the comparative — most adjectives add -er (groter, duurder), longer ones take meer, and 'than' is always as, never dan.