A subordinating conjunction is a word that hangs one clause off another, marking it as dependent: Ek weet *dat hy kom (I know *that he is coming). The dependent clause cannot stand on its own — dat hy kom is not a sentence — and that dependency has a visible grammatical consequence in Afrikaans. Every subordinating conjunction on this page does the same structural thing: it pushes the finite verb to the very end of its clause. Learn that one rule and the whole list falls into place. This page surveys the high-frequency subordinators, sorts out the notorious as / toe / wanneer split for English "when", and contrasts them with want, which looks like a subordinator but is not.
The one rule: subordinators send the verb to the end
In a main clause, Afrikaans keeps the finite verb in second position (the V2 rule): Hy *kom môre. The moment you tuck a clause under a subordinating conjunction, that order changes — the finite verb migrates to the *clause-final slot, sitting after the subject, object, adverbs, everything.
| Main clause (V2) | Subordinate clause (verb-final) |
|---|---|
| Hy is siek. | ... omdat hy siek is. |
| Sy slaap nou. | ... terwyl sy nou slaap. |
| Dit reën hard. | ... as dit hard reën. |
| Hy kom môre. | ... dat hy môre kom. |
Ek weet dat hy kom.
I know that he is coming.
Sy bly tuis omdat sy siek is.
She is staying home because she is sick.
Ek lees terwyl die kinders slaap.
I read while the children sleep.
Notice the contrast inside the second sentence: the main clause Sy bly tuis has the verb second (bly right after Sy), but the subordinate clause omdat sy siek is parks is at the very end. The conjunction and the clause-final verb form a frame, with everything else packed in between. This is the deep mechanics covered on subordinate clauses; here, just anchor the verb at the end every time one of these words appears.
What the perfect tense looks like at clause end
When the clause is in the past or has a modal, the cluster at the end gets a little longer, but the finite verb still ends up last — after the participle or infinitive.
Ek weet dat hy gister gekom het.
I know that he came yesterday.
Sy sê dat sy nie kan swem nie.
She says that she can't swim.
In dat hy gister gekom het, the participle gekom and the finite auxiliary het both move to the end, with het taking the final position — the mirror image of the main-clause order hy het gister gekom. This inversion of het and the participle is a reliable signal that you are inside a subordinate clause.
The main subordinators, by meaning
Here is the working set you need at B1, grouped by what they mean.
| Conjunction | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| dat | that | complement clauses; often droppable |
| omdat | because | gives a reason |
| as | if; when (present/future, repeated) | condition or future "when" |
| toe | when (single past event) | past only |
| wanneer | when (questions, repeated) | more formal "as" |
| terwyl | while | simultaneous action |
| hoewel | although | concession |
| sodat | so that | purpose / result |
| voordat | before | often shortened to voor |
| nadat | after | often shortened to na |
| totdat | until | often shortened to tot |
| sodra | as soon as | immediate sequence |
Ek bly tuis omdat ek moeg is.
I'm staying home because I'm tired.
As dit reën, bly ons binne.
If it rains, we stay inside.
Hoewel hy ryk is, is hy ongelukkig.
Although he is rich, he is unhappy.
Sit die ligte aan sodat ons kan sien.
Put the lights on so that we can see.
Wag totdat die water kook.
Wait until the water boils.
Bel my sodra jy klaar is.
Call me as soon as you're done.
Note that when the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause that follows inverts (verb before subject): As dit reën, *bly ons binne* — the whole subordinate clause counts as the "first element", so the main verb jumps ahead of its subject. That is the V2 rule doing its job across the comma.
The famous split: as vs toe vs wanneer for "when"
English uses one word, when, for three different jobs. Afrikaans splits them, and getting the split right is the single biggest tell of a fluent speaker. The rule is clean.
toe — a single, completed event in the past. One thing happened, once, back then.
Toe ek jonk was, het ons op 'n plaas gewoon.
When I was young, we lived on a farm.
Toe sy die nuus hoor, het sy begin huil.
When she heard the news, she started to cry.
as — a condition ("if") or a future / repeated "when". The event is not a single past fact; it is hypothetical, upcoming, or habitual.
As ek geld het, koop ek vir jou 'n geskenk.
When I have money, I'll buy you a present.
As dit somer is, gaan ons elke dag swem.
When it's summer, we go swimming every day.
wanneer — used in questions and as a slightly more formal alternative to as for repeated/future "when".
Wanneer kom jy huis toe?
When are you coming home?
Sy weet nie wanneer die trein vertrek nie.
She doesn't know when the train departs.
The mnemonic: toe points backward to one past moment; as points forward to a condition or future; wanneer asks the question. There is a full decision guide on as, toe, wanneer, but the past-punctual toe is the one English speakers must drill hardest, because English gives you no signal that "when I was young" needs a different word from "when I have money".
want is NOT a subordinator — it is coordinating
Here is the trap. Afrikaans has two words for "because": omdat and want. They translate the same, but they behave in opposite ways grammatically, and this matters because the verb position differs.
omdat is subordinating: verb to the end.
Ek gaan slaap omdat ek moeg is.
I'm going to sleep because I'm tired.
want is coordinating (it joins two equal main clauses, like and, but, or): the verb stays in second position, exactly as in a normal main clause.
Ek gaan slaap, want ek is moeg.
I'm going to sleep, because I'm tired.
Look at the end of each: omdat ek moeg is (verb last) versus want ek *is moeg (verb second). Same meaning, opposite word order, because *want is in the same family as en (and), maar (but), of (or) — see coordinating conjunctions. A practical consequence: want can never start a sentence the way omdat can. You can say Omdat ek moeg is, gaan ek slaap, but not Want ek moeg is....
| omdat (subordinating) | want (coordinating) | |
|---|---|---|
| Verb position | clause-final | second (V2) |
| Can start the sentence? | yes | no |
| Comma before it? | optional | usual |
| Example | ... omdat ek moeg is | ... want ek is moeg |
Dropping dat
In casual speech and even in writing, dat is frequently dropped after verbs of saying, thinking, and knowing — just as English drops "that". When dat disappears, so does its grammar: the clause reverts to main-clause V2 order.
Ek dink hy kom môre.
I think he's coming tomorrow.
Ek dink dat hy môre kom.
I think that he's coming tomorrow.
Compare the verb positions: with dat, the clause is subordinate and kom goes last (dat hy môre kom); drop dat and the clause behaves like a main clause with kom in second position (hy kom môre). Both are correct and natural; the dropped version is more conversational. This is a genuinely useful shortcut, but you must flip the word order to match — you cannot drop dat and keep verb-final order.
Common mistakes
❌ Toe ek geld het, koop ek vir jou iets.
Incorrect — toe is for a single past event, not a future condition.
✅ As ek geld het, koop ek vir jou iets.
When I have money, I'll buy you something.
❌ As ek jonk was, het ons op 'n plaas gewoon.
Incorrect — a one-off past event needs toe, not as.
✅ Toe ek jonk was, het ons op 'n plaas gewoon.
When I was young, we lived on a farm.
❌ Sy bly tuis omdat sy is siek.
Incorrect — omdat is subordinating, so the verb must go to the end.
✅ Sy bly tuis omdat sy siek is.
She's staying home because she is sick.
❌ Ek gaan slaap want ek moeg is.
Incorrect — want is coordinating; the verb stays in second position.
✅ Ek gaan slaap, want ek is moeg.
I'm going to sleep, because I'm tired.
❌ Ek dink dat hy kom môre.
Incorrect — with dat the clause is subordinate, so kom must be last.
✅ Ek dink dat hy môre kom.
I think that he's coming tomorrow.
Key takeaways
- Every subordinating conjunction — dat, omdat, as, toe, terwyl, hoewel, sodat, voordat, nadat, totdat, sodra — sends the finite verb to the end of its clause.
- For English "when": toe = a single past event, as = condition / future / repeated, wanneer = questions and formal repeated "when".
- want ("because") is coordinating, not subordinating: its verb stays in second position and it cannot start a sentence. Contrast it with omdat.
- When a subordinate clause comes first, the following main clause inverts (verb before subject).
- Dropping dat reverts the clause to main-clause V2 order — drop the word, flip the verb.
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Subordinate Clauses: Verb to the EndA2 — In an Afrikaans subordinate clause the finite verb moves to the very end — the single biggest word-order adjustment English speakers have to make.
- as vs toe vs wanneer ('when')B1 — English 'when' splits into three Afrikaans words — toe for a single past event, as for the future and 'whenever', and wanneer for questions — a clean rule one English word hides.
- 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.
- 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.
- Temporal Conjunctions: toe, as, wanneer, terwyl, nadat, voordatB1 — The subordinators that locate one event in time relative to another — toe, as, wanneer, terwyl, nadat, voordat, sodra — all sending the verb to the clause end.