Nothing showcases Afrikaans spatial language better than asking for directions: in a few short lines you meet the imperative (Gaan reguit, Draai links), the location prepositions (by, langs, oorkant), and the one piece of grammar that has no clean English equivalent — the directional postposition toe, which comes after its noun (links toe = "to the left"). Below is a short original dialogue, written for this page, followed by a line-by-line breakdown of the grammar doing the work.
The dialogue
A tourist (Toeris) stops a local (Plaaslike) on a street in Stellenbosch to find the museum.
| Speaker | Afrikaans | English |
|---|---|---|
| Toeris | Verskoon my — weet jy waar die museum is? | Excuse me — do you know where the museum is? |
| Plaaslike | Ja, dis nie ver nie. Hoe wil jy daarheen kom? | Yes, it's not far. How do you want to get there? |
| Toeris | Te voet. Hoe kom ek by die museum? | On foot. How do I get to the museum? |
| Plaaslike | Gaan hier reguit met Kerkstraat af, tot by die verkeerslig. | Go straight on down Church Street, as far as the traffic light. |
| Toeris | En dan? | And then? |
| Plaaslike | By die verkeerslig draai jy links. Die museum is oorkant die kerk. | At the traffic light you turn left. The museum is opposite the church. |
| Toeris | Is dit langs die biblioteek? | Is it next to the library? |
| Plaaslike | Nee, die biblioteek is daar agter. Stap net reguit, dan sien jy dit. | No, the library is back there. Just walk straight on, then you'll see it. |
| Toeris | Moet ek by die plein verby? | Do I have to go past the square? |
| Plaaslike | Ja. Loop deur die plein, dan museum toe. Dit vat vyf minute. | Yes. Walk through the square, then on to the museum. It takes five minutes. |
| Toeris | Baie dankie! Ek waardeer dit. | Thanks a lot! I appreciate it. |
| Plaaslike | Plesier. Geniet die uitstalling! | You're welcome. Enjoy the exhibition! |
Line-by-line commentary
Opening the request: Hoe kom ek by die museum?
There are two fixed ways to ask the way. Waar is die museum? ("Where is the museum?") asks for the location; Hoe kom ek by die museum? ("How do I get to the museum?") asks for the route. Note the preposition by here — it is the everyday word for "at / by / to (a destination you arrive at)". Kom by means "arrive at / reach".
Hoe kom ek by die stasie?
How do I get to the station?
Weet jy waar die apteek is?
Do you know where the pharmacy is?
Notice the embedded word order in weet jy waar die museum is: inside the indirect question, the verb is moves to the very end. That is subordinate-clause word order, which you will meet fully at B1 — for now just absorb the rhythm.
The imperative: Gaan reguit, Draai links
To give an instruction, Afrikaans simply uses the bare verb with no subject. Gaan reguit = "Go straight"; Draai links = "Turn left"; Stap reguit / Loop reguit = "Walk straight". There is no "you" and nothing to conjugate — the verb stands alone at the front.
Gaan reguit.
Go straight on.
Draai links by die verkeerslig.
Turn left at the traffic light.
Stap deur die plein.
Walk through the square.
Location prepositions: by, langs, oorkant, deur
Directions lean on a small set of place words, and these go before the noun, just like English:
| Afrikaans | English | From the dialogue |
|---|---|---|
| by | at / by | by die verkeerslig — at the traffic light |
| langs | next to / alongside | langs die biblioteek — next to the library |
| oorkant | opposite / across from | oorkant die kerk — opposite the church |
| deur | through | deur die plein — through the square |
| verby | past | by die plein verby — past the square |
Die museum is oorkant die kerk.
The museum is opposite the church.
Dit is langs die biblioteek.
It's next to the library.
The star of directions: the postposition toe
Here is the construction with no English parallel. To say "to a place" as a destination of movement, Afrikaans puts toe after the noun: museum toe = "to the museum", huis toe = "home / to home", stad toe = "into town". It is a postposition — it follows its noun instead of preceding it.
Loop deur die plein, dan museum toe.
Walk through the square, then on to the museum.
Ons gaan strand toe.
We're going to the beach.
Sy ry werk toe.
She's driving to work.
Direction words combine with toe the same way: links toe ("to the left"), regs toe ("to the right"), daarheen / soontoe ("to there").
Draai regs toe by die hoek.
Turn off to the right at the corner.
Place adverbs: hier, daar, daar agter
Pointing words anchor the directions in space: hier ("here"), daar ("there"), and combinations like daar agter ("back there"), daar voor ("up ahead"). In Gaan *hier reguit the *hier simply means "from this spot".
Die biblioteek is daar agter.
The library is back there.
Gaan hier reguit met die straat af.
Go straight on down the street from here.
Separable verbs sneaking in: by ... verby
Moet ek by die plein verby? uses the separable verb verbygaan ("to go past"), here split around the noun. The particle verby lands at the end of the clause while the rest sits in front. You will see this split everywhere with separable verbs — and in the past tense the ge- slots right inside it (verbygegaan). That pattern is developed in verbs/separable-past.
Moet ek by die plein verby?
Do I have to go past the square?
Common mistakes
❌ Ons gaan na die museum toe ... na die strand toe.
Often over-marked — with the toe construction you usually drop na: just museum toe, strand toe.
✅ Ons gaan strand toe.
We're going to the beach.
❌ Gaan toe die museum.
Incorrect — toe is a postposition; it follows the noun: museum toe.
✅ Gaan museum toe.
Go to the museum.
❌ Die museum is die kerk oorkant van.
Incorrect — don't strand the preposition; it stays before its noun.
✅ Die museum is oorkant die kerk.
The museum is opposite the church.
❌ Jy draai links by die verkeerslig.
Fine as a statement, but as a command drop the subject: Draai links.
✅ Draai links by die verkeerslig.
Turn left at the traffic light.
Key takeaways
- Ask the route with Hoe kom ek by ...? and the location with Waar is ...?
- Commands are just the bare verb: Gaan reguit, Draai links, Stap reguit.
- Location prepositions (by, langs, oorkant, deur, verby) sit before their noun — never strand them at the end.
- "To a place" uses the postposition toe after the noun: museum toe, huis toe, links toe. This is the construction with no English match.
- Place adverbs hier and daar (and daar agter) anchor directions in space.
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
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- The ImperativeA2 — How to give commands in Afrikaans — the bare verb stem with no subject, the inclusive 'let's' with kom ons / laat ons, and softening with asseblief.
- Location: in, op, by, onder, langs, tussenA1 — The everyday Afrikaans prepositions of place — in, op, by, onder, langs, tussen, voor, agter, naby — and the one English splits that by covers in one word.
- Annotated Texts: OverviewA2 — How the annotated-text pages work — a short text paired with grammar commentary — and the strict sourcing policy: every text is either an original composition or genuinely public-domain, never an in-copyright work.
- Past Tense of Separable VerbsB1 — How separable verbs form their past participle — ge- is infixed between the particle and the stem (opstaan → opgestaan, aankom → aangekom), written solid, and placed clause-finally — and why inseparable-prefixed verbs take no ge- at all.