You have learned that in a main clause the finite verb sits in second position — the V2 rule. Here is the twist that catches every English speaker off guard: the moment a clause becomes subordinate — introduced by dat ("that"), omdat ("because"), as ("if/when"), toe ("when, past"), terwyl ("while"), wanneer ("when"), or the relativiser wat ("that/which") — the finite verb stops obeying V2 and moves to the very end of the clause. This main-clause-versus-subordinate alternation is the single biggest syntactic adjustment you will make, because English has nothing like it. This page covers the meanings of the conjunctions themselves only in passing; for those, see subordinating conjunctions.
The headline: the finite verb goes last
In English, word order does not change when a clause becomes subordinate. "She is tired" stays "I know that she is tired" — verb still right after the subject. Afrikaans does the opposite. Watch is travel to the end:
Sy is moeg.
She is tired.
Sy sê dat sy moeg is.
She says that she is tired.
In the dat-clause, is abandons its second-position slot and lands at the very end: ...dat sy moeg is. Literally, "...that she tired is." This is not a stylistic option — it is obligatory. Every subordinate clause does it.
Ek weet dat hy kom.
I know that he is coming.
Ons bly binne omdat dit reën.
We're staying inside because it's raining.
In omdat dit reën ("because it's raining"), the single verb reën is already last because the clause is short — but the principle is the same: the finite verb closes the subordinate clause.
Even the finite verb moves — this is the hard part
In a main clause, only extra verbs (participles, infinitives) go to the end, while the finite verb stays second. English speakers find that bearable. What feels genuinely alien is that in a subordinate clause the finite verb — the everyday one that carries the tense — also goes last. There is no verb left in second position at all.
Ek bly tuis omdat ek siek is.
I'm staying home because I'm sick.
Hy vra of jy môre tyd het.
He's asking whether you have time tomorrow.
Sy het gehoor dat ons die huis verkoop.
She heard that we're selling the house.
In each, the finite verb (is, het, verkoop) sits at the end of its clause, with everything else stacked in front of it. Train your ear on this: a subordinate clause in Afrikaans almost always ends on a verb.
With the perfect tense, het goes last
In the perfect (past) tense, a main clause splits the bracket — het second, the participle last (Hy het gekom). In a subordinate clause the whole cluster collapses to the end, and crucially the auxiliary het lands at the very end, after the participle:
Ek het gehoor dat hy gekom het.
I heard that he came.
Sy is bly dat ons betyds aangekom het.
She's glad that we arrived on time.
Read the order carefully: ...dat hy gekom het — participle gekom, then auxiliary het, both at the end. This reversal (in the main clause it would be hy het gekom) is a reliable signal that you are inside a subordinate clause. The finite auxiliary is the last word.
Hulle weet nie waar ek die sleutels gesit het nie.
They don't know where I put the keys.
Modals and verb clusters stack at the end
When the subordinate clause has a modal plus an infinitive, or a longer verb cluster, the whole stack piles up at the end, with the finite verb closing it. If the clause is also negative, the closing nie comes after the verb cluster.
Dit is jammer dat hy nie kon kom nie.
It's a pity that he couldn't come.
Ek verstaan dat jy nou moet gaan.
I understand that you have to go now.
Sy weet dat sy harder sal moet werk.
She knows that she'll have to work harder.
In ...dat sy harder sal moet werk, three verbs (sal moet werk) stack at the end in that order, finite sal leading the cluster — but the whole cluster is still at the clause end, nothing in second position.
Separable verbs rejoin at the end
In a main clause, separable verbs split — particle to the end (Sy staan om sewe-uur op). In a subordinate clause there is nothing to split away from, because the verb is already heading to the end. So the separable verb rejoins as one word at the clause-final position.
Ek hoor dat sy elke oggend om sewe opstaan.
I hear that she gets up at seven every morning.
Hy is laat omdat hy die lig nie afgesit het nie.
He's late because he didn't switch off the light.
Compare the main clause Sy staan op (split) with the subordinate ...dat sy opstaan (rejoined). The particle op clamps back onto staan the moment the verb goes clause-final.
Fronting the subordinate clause: it triggers main-clause inversion
A subordinate clause can come first in the sentence. When it does, it fills the whole first slot of the main clause — so the main clause's finite verb must follow immediately, inverting with the subject (V2 again). This is how toe-clauses ("when", in the past) usually appear:
Toe hy kom, was ons reeds weg.
When he came, we were already gone.
Omdat dit gereën het, het ons binne gebly.
Because it rained, we stayed inside.
Look at the two verbs in Toe hy kom, was ons reeds weg: inside the subordinate clause, kom is last (verb-final); then the main clause opens with its finite verb was in second position, before the subject ons. The fronted subordinate clause counts as "position one", so the main verb inverts. Both rules — verb-final in the subordinate, V2 in the main — are working at once.
Relative clauses with wat behave the same way
The relativiser wat ("that/which/who") introduces a subordinate clause, so its verb also goes to the end. This is covered in depth on relative clauses, but the verb-final pattern is identical:
Die boek wat ek gister gekoop het, is wonderlik.
The book that I bought yesterday is wonderful.
Die man wat daar staan, is my oom.
The man who is standing there is my uncle.
In wat ek gister gekoop het, the verb cluster gekoop het closes the relative clause — same rule, same end position.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek weet dat hy is siek.
Incorrect — V2 order kept; the finite verb 'is' must go to the end: 'dat hy siek is'.
✅ Ek weet dat hy siek is.
I know that he is sick.
❌ Sy sê dat sy het die werk klaargemaak.
Incorrect — in a subordinate clause the auxiliary goes last, after the participle: 'dat sy die werk klaargemaak het'.
✅ Sy sê dat sy die werk klaargemaak het.
She says that she finished the work.
❌ Ek hoor dat sy staan elke oggend op.
Incorrect — the separable verb must rejoin at the end in a subordinate clause: 'dat sy ... opstaan'.
✅ Ek hoor dat sy elke oggend opstaan.
I hear that she gets up every morning.
❌ Toe hy kom, ons was reeds weg.
Incorrect — a fronted subordinate clause fills slot one, so the main verb must invert: 'was ons reeds weg'.
✅ Toe hy kom, was ons reeds weg.
When he came, we were already gone.
❌ Dit is jammer dat hy nie kon kom.
Incorrect — the closing 'nie' is missing after the verb cluster.
✅ Dit is jammer dat hy nie kon kom nie.
It's a pity that he couldn't come.
Key takeaways
- A subordinate clause sends its finite verb to the very end — unlike the main-clause V2 rule, and unlike English, which never reorders.
- The trigger is the subordinating word up front: dat, omdat, as, toe, terwyl, wanneer, or the relativiser wat (see subordinating conjunctions).
- In the perfect, the auxiliary het lands last, after the participle (...dat hy gekom het).
- Verb clusters stack at the end; separable verbs rejoin as one word (...dat sy opstaan).
- A fronted subordinate clause fills slot one, so the following main clause inverts (V2).
- For the general logic of clause-final verbs and for relative clauses, see the clause-final verb and relative clauses.
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- The Verb Bracket: Clause-Final Non-Finite VerbsA2 — In Afrikaans, the finite verb sits second while every other verb — participle, infinitive, separable particle — drops to the very end, framing the clause in a 'verb bracket'.
- 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.
- Relative Clause Word OrderB1 — Relative clauses with wat and the waar-compounds are just verb-final subordinate clauses — the verb goes to the end, the relativiser sits right after its antecedent, and prepositional relatives use waarmee, waaroor, waarop at the clause edge.
- The V2 Rule: Finite Verb SecondA1 — Why the finite verb always lands in second position in Afrikaans main clauses — and why the subject must follow it when anything else comes first.