Discourse Connectors: in elk geval, trouens, boonop

When you move from speaking in single sentences to building an argument across several of them, you need a different toolkit: words that tell the reader how each new sentence relates to the one before. Afrikaans has a rich set of these discourse connectors — boonop (moreover), trouens (in fact), nietemin (nonetheless), gevolglik (consequently), kortom (in short) — and they behave in a way that English speakers reliably get wrong. They are not conjunctions glued inside a clause; they are adverbs that stand at the head of a sentence and, because Afrikaans is a verb-second language, force the verb and subject to swap places. Master that one mechanical fact and your written Afrikaans will immediately read as the work of someone who has internalised the grammar rather than translated it.

What these connectors are — and are not

A connector here is a word or phrase that links one whole sentence to the next, signalling addition, concession, reformulation, cause or summary. The crucial point is grammatical: these are adverbs (bywoorde), not coordinating conjunctions like en (and), maar (but) or want (because). A conjunction such as maar sits in the gap between two clauses and changes nothing about the word order of either. A connector such as boonop sits inside the second sentence, in first position, and therefore counts as the first element of that sentence — which is exactly why it triggers inversion.

Read those second sentences carefully: Boonop *is dit..., Nietemin **het ons...*. The verb comes before the subject. That is not a stylistic flourish — it is obligatory.

The core rule: first position, then inversion

Afrikaans obeys the verb-second (V2) rule: in a main clause, the finite verb must be the second element, no matter what occupies the first. If you put a connector in first position, it is the first element, so the verb has to come next, pushing the subject to third position. This is the same mechanism you have already met with time and place adverbs (Môre *kom hy) and with the cause connectors *daarom and dus. The connectors on this page are simply a wider family that all play by that rule.

You can also place many of these connectors inside the sentence rather than at the front, in which case normal subject-verb order returns because the connector is no longer the first element:

Both placements are correct. Fronting the connector is the more emphatic, more typical written choice; the mid-sentence position is lighter. What you may not do is front the connector and then keep the subject before the verb.

The connectors grouped by what they signal

These words are not interchangeable. Each marks a specific logical relationship, and choosing the right one is what makes writing feel argued rather than merely listed.

Addition — boonop, verder, daarby, wat meer is (what's more). You are stacking another point on top of the previous one.

Concession — nietemin, nogtans, desondanks (despite that), daarteenoor (by contrast). You are conceding the previous point but pressing on, or setting up a contrast.

Cause and consequence — gevolglik, dus, daarom (therefore). The new sentence is the result of the previous one. These are the connectors English speakers are least surprised to see invert, because dus and daarom are taught early.

Reformulation and summary — met ander woorde (in other words), kortom (in short), kort en klaar (in a nutshell). You are restating or wrapping up.

Sequencing — eerstens (firstly), tweedens (secondly), ten slotte (finally). These order the points of an argument and are the backbone of any structured piece of writing.

Dismissal and resumption — in elk geval (anyway, in any case), in alle geval (at any rate). You wave aside the preceding detail and return to the main line, or signal that the conclusion holds regardless. in elk geval is the most conversational connector in this set, but it still obeys the same V2 inversion when fronted — and here the inversion catches learners out, because the English "anyway, we decided" leaves the subject in place.

A note on register

Almost every connector here belongs to careful, written, or formal register. They are the furniture of essays, reports, editorials and speeches, not of relaxed chat. In casual conversation an Afrikaans speaker is far more likely to reach for en (and), maar (but), or the particle dan than for nietemin or desondanks. Sprinkling trouens and gevolglik through a WhatsApp message to a friend sounds as stilted as writing "furthermore" and "consequently" to your mates in English. Use these connectors to give structure to writing; lean on simpler links when you speak.

How this differs from English

English connectors are syntactically lazy: "Moreover, it is cheap" / "Nonetheless, they kept going" leave the subject firmly in front of the verb. There is nothing to adjust. That is precisely the trap. Because the English pattern is connector + comma + subject + verb, an English speaker imports it wholesale into Afrikaans and produces Boonop dit is goedkoop — which is simply ungrammatical. Afrikaans does not care that the connector is "just an introductory word"; it counts it as the first element and the verb must follow. The mental switch you have to make is to stop seeing these words as detachable English-style sentence openers and start seeing them as genuine first-position elements that fire the V2 rule, exactly like other fronted adverbs.

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Discourse connectors such as boonop, trouens, nietemin, gevolglik and kortom are adverbs, not conjunctions, and link whole sentences.
• Put one in first position and the V2 rule forces inversion: verb second, subject third — Boonop *is dit goedkoop*.
• Placed mid-sentence they don't invert, because they are no longer the first element: Dit is *boonop goedkoop*.
• Each connector marks a specific relationship — addition, concession, consequence, reformulation, summary, sequence — so choose deliberately.
• They belong to formal and written register; in speech, simpler links carry the load. For more on the inversion mechanic, see inverting after conjunctions and formal writing.