kies ("to choose, select") and verkies ("to prefer") are a choose-and-prefer pair that share a stem but split apart in two ways at once: in meaning (picking one option versus favouring one option) and in form (the ver- prefix). That prefix is the grammatical heart of the page. kies is an ordinary verb that takes the normal ge- in the perfect — het gekies — but verkies opens with the toneless, inseparable ver-, which blocks ge- entirely: het verkies. Learn them side by side and you get both a useful pair of everyday verbs and a clean demonstration of why ver- verbs never take ge-.
The forms, side by side
| Form | kies (choose) | verkies (prefer) |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (om te) kies | (om te) verkies |
| Present (all persons) | ek / jy / hy kies | ek / jy / hy verkies |
| Perfect (past) | het gekies | het verkies |
| Future | sal kies | sal verkies |
| Imperative (sg.) | Kies! | (Verkies! — rare) |
The contrast lives in the perfect row: gekies has the ge-, verkies does not. (The imperative of verkies is grammatically possible but rarely used — you tell someone to choose, not to prefer.)
Kies wat jy wil — dis my trakteer vanaand.
Choose whatever you want — it's my treat tonight.
Ek verkies tee bo koffie, veral in die aand.
I prefer tea to coffee, especially in the evening.
kies: choosing and selecting
kies is the act of picking one option out of several — a dish from a menu, a team, a colour, a path. It is fully regular, so the perfect is het gekies.
Sy het die rooi een gekies, al was die blou een goedkoper.
She chose the red one, even though the blue one was cheaper.
Ons moet 'n datum kies voor ons die plek kan bespreek.
We have to choose a date before we can book the venue.
Kies tussen die twee — ons het nie tyd vir albei nie.
Choose between the two — we don't have time for both.
kies takes a few useful complements:
- kies tussen ("choose between") — for picking among named options.
- kies om te ("choose to") — for choosing to do something.
Hy het gekies om te bly, al het almal hom aangeraai om te gaan.
He chose to stay, even though everyone advised him to go.
verkies: preferring
verkies means to favour one thing over another — not to pick it on this occasion, but to like it better in general. Its everyday frame is verkies X bo Y ("prefer X to Y") or verkies om te ("prefer to"). The perfect is het verkies, with no ge-.
Ek verkies om te bly eerder as om in die reën uit te gaan.
I'd prefer to stay rather than go out in the rain.
Sy verkies die stilte van die platteland bo die stad se geraas.
She prefers the quiet of the countryside to the city's noise.
Hulle het verkies om met die trein te reis in plaas van te vlieg.
They preferred to travel by train instead of flying.
In everyday speech, many speakers reach for liewer ("rather") instead of verkies to express a preference — Ek bly liewer hier ("I'd rather stay here"). verkies is a touch more deliberate; liewer is the lighter, more conversational option. For that whole system, see graag and liewer.
Ek bly liewer hier — dis te koud om uit te gaan.
I'd rather stay here — it's too cold to go out.
Why verkies has no ge-
The reason verkies drops the ge- is the same reason verstaan, vergeet and verloor drop it: the ver- prefix is inseparable and unstressed. You say ver-kíes, with the weight on the stem, and Afrikaans does not stack the toneless ge- on top of another toneless prefix. So the participle is just verkies — identical to the present tense, with only het marking the past. kies, having no prefix, takes the ge- normally: gekies. Same stem, opposite participle, all because of three letters at the front. This is the inseparable-prefix pattern in miniature.
Ek het nog altyd somer bo winter verkies.
I've always preferred summer to winter.
Sy het 'n loopbaan in die kuns verkies, ten spyte van haar ouers se raad.
She preferred a career in the arts, despite her parents' advice.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek het gisteraand vis geverkies.
Incorrect — verkies never takes ge-; the ver- prefix blocks it. The form is just verkies.
✅ Ek het gisteraand vis verkies.
I preferred fish last night.
The classic error is treating verkies like a regular verb and adding ge-. Geverkies does not exist; the perfect is the bare het verkies.
❌ Sy het die blou rok verkies uit die drie.
Meaning slip — to pick one option on the spot is kies (gekies); verkies is about general preference.
✅ Sy het die blou rok gekies uit die drie.
She chose the blue dress out of the three.
If you are picking one item out of a set right now, that is kies. verkies is for what you favour in general.
❌ Ek verkies tee aan koffie.
Wrong preposition — Afrikaans uses bo (over), not aan: verkies tee bo koffie.
✅ Ek verkies tee bo koffie.
I prefer tea to coffee.
❌ Kies tussen van die twee.
Extra word — kies tussen takes the options directly, no 'van': kies tussen die twee.
✅ Kies tussen die twee.
Choose between the two.
Key takeaways
- kies ("choose, select") is regular and takes ge-: perfect het gekies.
- verkies ("prefer") carries the inseparable ver- prefix and takes no ge-: perfect het verkies, identical to the present.
- Meaning split: kies = pick one option now; verkies = favour one thing in general.
- Complements: kies tussen ("choose between"), kies om te ("choose to"), verkies X bo Y ("prefer X to Y"), verkies om te ("prefer to").
- In casual speech, liewer ("rather") often replaces verkies — see graag and liewer.
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