Daily-Routine Verbs: opstaan, aantrek, was, eet, slaap, werk | Afrikaans Grammar

This is a lookup page for the verbs of a daily routine — the things you do from the moment you wake up. A routine naturally mixes two verb types: separable verbs that split in a normal sentence (opstaan becomes staan ... op) and simple verbs that never split (was, eet, slaap, werk). Drilling them together, in the order of an actual day, is the fastest way to make the split/join alternation automatic. The table is the quick reference; the notes walk through the day. This page does not teach how separable verbs split — for that mechanism, see separable verbs — nor how they form the past, which is on separable past.

The routine-verb map

The heart of this page. The middle column shows the verb split in a present-tense sentence; the right column gives the participle. Notice how the separable ones wrap the ge- inside (op-ge-staan), while the simple ones take a front ge- (ge-was).

Verb	Gloss	Split form (present)	Participle
opstaan	get up	ek staan op	opgestaan
aantrek	get dressed	ek trek my aan	aangetrek
uittrek	get undressed	ek trek my uit	uitgetrek
was	wash (oneself)	ek was my	gewas
eet	eat	ek eet	geëet
slaap	sleep	ek slaap	geslaap
werk	work	ek werk	gewerk

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The split is purely positional. In a main clause the prefix flies to the end: ek staan vroeg op ("I get up early"). But in the infinitive and the participle it rejoins: om op te staan, het opgestaan. So the same verb looks split in the present and solid in the past — that alternation is the whole game.

Morning: opstaan, was, aantrek

The day starts with three verbs in a row, and two of them are separable.

opstaan ("to get up") splits to staan ... op: ek staan om sesuur op ("I get up at six"). The participle is the solid opgestaan, with the ge- tucked between the prefix and stem. Crucially, opstaan takes het, not is, in the past — ek het opgestaan. English learners coming through German or Dutch sometimes reach for a "to be" auxiliary here; Afrikaans uses het for nearly all verbs.

Ek staan deesdae baie vroeg op, soms voor die son.

These days I get up very early, sometimes before the sun.

Sy het vanoggend laat opgestaan en die bus gemis.

She got up late this morning and missed the bus.

was ("to wash") is simple — it never splits. For washing yourself, it's reflexive: ek was my ("I wash [myself]"). The participle is gewas. Here we mean personal washing — jou was, washing your own body or face; washing dishes and laundry belong to the kitchen and are on home and cooking verbs.

Ek was my gesig met koue water om wakker te word.

I wash my face with cold water to wake up.

aantrek ("to get dressed, to put on") splits to trek ... aan: ek trek my aan (reflexive, "I get dressed") or ek trek 'n trui aan ("I put on a jumper"). The participle is aangetrek. See the dedicated aantrek and uittrek for the clothing pair in full.

Trek 'n jas aan — dit is koud buite vanoggend.

Put on a coat — it's cold outside this morning.

Daytime: eet, werk

The middle of the day brings two simple verbs.

eet ("to eat") is simple, but watch the participle: geëet, with a diaeresis on the second e. Afrikaans writes ge- + eet as geëet, and the two dots signal that the ëe is a fresh syllable, not a long vowel — ge-ëet, three syllables. Forgetting the diaeresis is a spelling error, not a typo.

Ons het vanmiddag saam by die nuwe kafee geëet.

We ate together at the new café this afternoon.

Wat eet jy gewoonlik vir ontbyt?

What do you usually eat for breakfast?

werk ("to work") is simple, participle gewerk. It's also a noun (werk = "work, job"), spelled the same, with context separating them.

Ek werk van nege tot vyf, maar vandag het ek tot laat gewerk.

I work from nine to five, but today I worked until late.

Evening: uittrek, slaap

The day winds down by reversing the morning.

uittrek ("to get undressed, to take off") is aantrek's opposite and splits the same way: trek ... uit. The participle is uitgetrek. Ek trek my skoene uit ("I take off my shoes").

Hy het sy nat klere uitgetrek en iets droogs aangetrek.

He took off his wet clothes and put on something dry.

slaap ("to sleep") closes the day. Simple verb, participle geslaap. Ek gaan slaap ("I'm going to sleep / going to bed") is the everyday way to say you're turning in.

Ek het sleg geslaap — die bure was die hele nag raserig.

I slept badly — the neighbours were noisy all night.

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Spot the separable verbs by their meaning-bearing prefix: opstaan, aantrek, uittrek all carry a direction (up, on, off). Those split. The plain action verbs with no such prefix — was, eet, slaap, werk — stay whole. If you can feel the "up/on/off" in the verb, expect it to split.

A full day in the past

Stringing the routine together in the past tense shows the participles side by side — three solid separable forms and three front-ge- simple ones.

Vanoggend het ek vroeg opgestaan, my gewas, aangetrek, vinnig geëet, en toe die hele dag gewerk.

This morning I got up early, washed, got dressed, ate quickly, and then worked all day.

That one sentence carries opgestaan, gewas, aangetrek, geëet, and gewerk — the whole table in motion. If those five feel natural, you have the routine.

Common mistakes

❌ Ek op staan om sesuur. (meaning: I get up at six)

Incorrect — in a main clause the prefix goes to the end: ek staan om sesuur op.

✅ Ek staan om sesuur op.

I get up at six.

❌ Sy is laat opgestaan.

Incorrect — opstaan takes het, not is: sy het laat opgestaan.

✅ Sy het laat opgestaan.

She got up late.

❌ Ek het my snags geuittrek. (meaning: undressed)

Incorrect — the participle is solid with ge- inside: uitgetrek.

✅ Ek het my snags uitgetrek.

I got undressed at night.

❌ Ons het saam geeet.

Incorrect — eet needs a diaeresis in the participle: geëet.

✅ Ons het saam geëet.

We ate together.

❌ Hy trek 'n trui en gaan uit aan.

Incorrect — keep the verb and its prefix as one unit: trek 'n trui aan.

✅ Hy trek 'n trui aan en gaan uit.

He puts on a jumper and goes out.

Key takeaways

Two types in one routine: separable (opstaan, aantrek, uittrek) split to staan ... op; simple (was, eet, slaap, werk) never split.
The prefix moves in the present, rejoins in the past: ek staan op → het opgestaan. Same verb, two shapes.
Separable participles are solid with ge- inside: opgestaan, aangetrek, uitgetrek.
geëet needs the diaeresis — ge-ëet, three syllables.
Routine verbs take het, not is, in the past — ek het opgestaan.

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