loop (to walk/run/go) — Full Forms | Afrikaans Grammar

loop looks like a one-trick verb — to walk — and that is the meaning you will meet first. But in real Afrikaans it stretches a long way past walking: it is the casual way to say you are leaving (Ek loop! — "I'm off!"), it is what machines and engines do when they are running (die masjien loop), and it is the verb that directions are built on (Loop reguit — "go straight on"). English keeps these jobs in separate words — walk, leave, run, go — so the main thing to learn here is not the forms, which are simple, but the surprising reach of one short verb.

Core forms

loop is a perfectly regular verb. There is one present form for every person, the perfect is het geloop, and the future is sal loop. The imperative is just the bare verb, Loop!

Form	Afrikaans	English
Infinitive	loop	to walk / go
Present (all persons)	ek / jy / hy / ons / hulle loop	I / you / he / we / they walk
Perfect	het geloop	walked / have walked
Future	sal loop	will walk
Imperative	Loop!	Walk! / Go!

Ons loop elke oggend om die blok voor werk.

We walk around the block every morning before work.

Ek het gister al die pad stasie toe geloop.

I walked all the way to the station yesterday.

As dit ophou reën, sal ons strand toe loop.

If it stops raining, we'll walk to the beach.

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One present form covers every subject: ek loop, jy loop, sy loop, ons loop, hulle loop. Afrikaans verbs never change their ending for person or number, so loop is the same word throughout — and the perfect het geloop is just as regular.

loop = walk (and "run" on foot)

The base meaning is to walk — to move on foot. Unlike English, Afrikaans does not sharply separate walk from run: everyday Afrikaans often uses loop for moving on foot in general, and reaches for hardloop (literally "hard-walk") only when it specifically means to run / jog at speed. So loop covers the ground that English splits between walk and the slower edge of go on foot.

Die kinders loop skool toe — dis net twee strate ver.

The children walk to school — it's only two streets away.

My oupa loop nog elke dag 'n paar kilometer.

My grandfather still walks a few kilometres every day.

Sy loop stadig, want haar knie is seer.

She walks slowly, because her knee is sore.

loop = leave / go (the colloquial sense)

This is the meaning English speakers least expect. In casual speech, loop means to leave, to be off, to get going — even if no actual walking is involved. Ek loop nou does not mean "I am walking now"; it means "I'm off now / I'm heading out." You will hear it constantly when people say goodbye.

Ek loop nou — dis al laat en ek moet vroeg opstaan.

I'm off now — it's late and I have to get up early.

Kom ons loop, die fliek begin oor tien minute.

Let's get going, the film starts in ten minutes.

Hulle het al geloop voordat die reën begin het.

They'd already left before the rain started.

In its sharp imperative, Loop! on its own can also be a curt "Go away! / Push off!" — tone does all the work, so a friendly Kom ons loop ("let's go") and a snapped Loop! ("get lost") share the same verb. Keep this in mind so a brusque Loop! doesn't catch you off guard.

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Ek loop almost never means "I am physically walking" in conversation — it means "I'm leaving." If you want to stress the walking itself, anchor it with a destination or manner: Ek loop strand toe (I'm walking to the beach), Ek loop stadig (I'm walking slowly).

loop = run (machines, engines, time, liquids)

When a machine, engine or device is working, Afrikaans says it loop — exactly where English says it runs. The same verb covers an engine ticking over, a clock keeping time, a tap left flowing, and water running down a wall. English uses run here; Afrikaans uses loop.

Die enjin loop glad noudat ons die olie vervang het.

The engine runs smoothly now that we've changed the oil.

Los die wasmasjien — hy loop nog.

Leave the washing machine — it's still running.

Daar loop water teen die muur af; daar is seker 'n lek.

Water is running down the wall; there must be a leak.

So die masjien loop is "the machine is running," and die kraan loop is "the tap is running." The thread tying all these senses together is continuous, ongoing motion — feet, engines, water, time — which is exactly why one verb stretches across them.

loop in directions: "Loop reguit"

Giving directions on foot leans heavily on loop. The standard instruction for "go straight on" is Loop reguit (reguit = straight). You then string on turns with draai links / draai regs (turn left / turn right). Because directions are commands, the verb is in its bare imperative form.

Loop reguit tot by die verkeerslig, dan draai links.

Go straight on until the traffic light, then turn left.

Loop reguit met hierdie straat af en die poskantoor is aan jou regterkant.

Walk straight down this road and the post office is on your right.

For directions you'd give a driver you'd more often hear ry (drive) instead of loop, but on foot — and in the everyday "how do I get there?" exchange — Loop reguit is the phrase to know.

loop in the relaxed-manner reduplication

Afrikaans can double a verb to colour how an action is done — typically in a casual, relaxed, "while-you're-at-it" way. The classic examples are sing-sing (doing something while idly singing / breezily) and lag-lag (doing something laughingly, i.e. easily). loop feeds naturally into this pattern to paint an unhurried, ambling movement — strolling along rather than marching. This doubling is a productive, informal device rather than a fixed dictionary word, so treat it as a flavour you will hear, not a form to drill. The mechanics of doubling are on the reduplication page.

Sy het lag-lag die moeilike vraag beantwoord.

She answered the difficult question laughingly — i.e. with ease.

Hulle stap sing-sing met die pad langs.

They amble along the road, breezily singing as they go.

Common mistakes

❌ Ek loop nou. (intending: I am walking right now)

Misleading — in conversation this means 'I'm leaving now', not 'I'm walking'.

✅ Ek loop nou huis toe.

I'm walking home now. (a destination forces the literal 'walk' reading)

❌ Die masjien hardloop.

Wrong sense — machines 'loop' (run), they don't 'hardloop' (sprint).

✅ Die masjien loop.

The machine is running.

❌ Ek is gister stasie toe geloop.

Incorrect — loop takes het in the perfect, not is.

✅ Ek het gister stasie toe geloop.

I walked to the station yesterday.

❌ Gaan reguit.

Unidiomatic for on-foot directions — the set phrase is Loop reguit.

✅ Loop reguit tot by die kerk.

Go straight on as far as the church.

Key takeaways

loop is fully regular: one present form, perfect het geloop, future sal loop, imperative Loop!
It means walk — and Afrikaans often uses it for moving on foot generally, keeping hardloop for running fast.
Colloquially loop means to leave / be off: Ek loop nou = "I'm off now," not "I'm walking now."
Machines, engines, taps and clocks loop where English says they run.
Loop reguit is the everyday "go straight on" in walking directions.
Doubled (loop-loop-style, like sing-sing) it conveys an unhurried, ambling manner — an informal flavour, covered under reduplication.

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