Once you have the everyday separable verbs — opstaan, aankom, uitgaan on the core list — the next step up is the large layer of separable verbs whose meaning has drifted away from the literal particle. Toegee is built from toe ("closed/shut") + gee ("give"), but it means "to admit/concede"; nakom is na ("after") + kom, but it means "to fulfil" a promise. This is where the productive particle system reaches into abstract, idiomatic territory — exactly the verbs that intermediate learners need and that thin reference lists skip. This page is a working reference: each verb in its split main-clause form, its joined subordinate form, its participle, and a natural sentence, grouped by particle.
A reminder on the mechanics, because they are unforgiving: in a main clause the particle peels off and drops to the end (Ek gee toe — "I admit it"); after dat / omdat / om te the two halves rejoin (...dat ek toegee); and the participle infixes ge- in the seam (toegegee), giving a solid one-word participle, never two words. See separable past for the rule behind the infixed ge-.
The reference table
| Infinitive | English | Main clause (split) | Subordinate (joined) | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deurgaan | go through, proceed | gaan ... deur | deurgaan | deurgegaan |
| voortgaan | continue, carry on | gaan ... voort | voortgaan | voortgegaan |
| meedoen | take part, join in | doen ... mee | meedoen | meegedoen |
| toegee | admit, concede; give in | gee ... toe | toegee | toegegee |
| byvoeg | add (in) | voeg ... by | byvoeg | bygevoeg |
| nakom | fulfil, honour (a promise) | kom ... na | nakom | nagekom |
| raakloop | run into, bump into | loop ... raak | raakloop | raakgeloop |
| raaksien | spot, notice | sien ... raak | raaksien | raakgesien |
| instem | agree, consent | stem ... in | instem | ingestem |
| omdraai | turn around | draai ... om | omdraai | omgedraai |
| afsien (van) | give up, renounce | sien ... af (van) | afsien | afgesien |
| vooruitgaan | progress, improve | gaan ... vooruit | vooruitgaan | vooruitgegaan |
| wegraak | get lost, go missing | raak ... weg | wegraak | weggeraak |
| afhang (van) | depend (on) | hang ... af (van) | afhang | afgehang |
| aanbeveel | recommend | beveel ... aan | aanbeveel | aanbeveel |
Note the two verbs at the bottom that break the usual participle shape. Afhang van ("to depend on") and aanbeveel ("to recommend") are special, and each gets a note below.
The gaan group: deurgaan, voortgaan, vooruitgaan
These build on gaan ("go") and slide naturally from literal motion to abstract "proceeding". Deurgaan is literally "go through" but commonly means "go ahead/proceed"; voortgaan means "continue, carry on"; vooruitgaan means "make progress, improve".
Die vergadering gaan voort ten spyte van die reën.
The meeting carries on despite the rain.
Ons het besluit om met die plan deur te gaan.
We decided to go ahead with the plan.
Haar Afrikaans het die afgelope jaar baie vooruitgegaan.
Her Afrikaans has improved a lot over the past year.
Notice deur te gaan in the infinitive: with om te, the te slots between particle and stem (deur *te gaan), exactly like *op te staan. In the participle the particle stays attached and ge- infixes: voortgegaan, deurgegaan, vooruitgegaan.
The abstract favourites: toegee, instem, nakom
These three are the heart of why this layer matters — their meanings are fully figurative.
Toegee (literally "give shut") means to admit or concede, and also "to give in":
Ek moet toegee dat jy reg was oor die roete.
I have to admit you were right about the route.
Sy het uiteindelik toegegee en die kinders laat opbly.
She finally gave in and let the children stay up.
Instem (literally "vote/voice in") means to agree or consent, and typically takes the preposition met ("with") or tot ("to"):
Almal het met die voorstel ingestem.
Everyone agreed to the proposal.
Nakom (literally "come after") means to fulfil or honour an obligation, promise or rule:
Hy kom altyd sy beloftes na, wat ook al gebeur.
He always keeps his promises, whatever happens.
The raak group: raakloop, raaksien, wegraak
The particle raak ("touch/hit") gives a cluster of perception-and-encounter verbs. Raakloop is "to bump into / run into" (a person), raaksien is "to spot / catch sight of", and wegraak is "to get lost / go missing".
Ek het my ou onderwyser in die winkelsentrum raakgeloop.
I ran into my old teacher at the shopping centre.
Niemand het die fout in die verslag raakgesien nie.
Nobody spotted the mistake in the report.
My sleutels het weer in die huis weggeraak.
My keys have gone missing in the house again.
The two irregular shapes: afhang van and aanbeveel
These are the trap verbs of the page, and they break the default participle pattern in opposite ways.
Afhang van ("to depend on") is separable, splits normally (hang ... af), but its participle is the inseparable-looking afgehang when literal ("hung down"), while in its everyday abstract sense "depend on" it is overwhelmingly used in the present and rarely in the perfect — dit hang af van... ("it depends on..."). The split + preposition is what to drill:
Of ons gaan, hang af van die weer.
Whether we go depends on the weather.
Alles hang van jou af — jy moet kies.
Everything depends on you — you have to choose.
Aanbeveel ("to recommend") is the genuine oddity. It is aan- + beveel, and beveel already starts with the unstressed inseparable prefix be-. So although the verb splits in a main clause (beveel ... aan), the participle takes no infixed ge- — because beveel never takes ge- in the first place. The participle is simply aanbeveel, identical to the infinitive:
Die dokter beveel meer rus aan.
The doctor recommends more rest.
Sy het die restaurant sterk aanbeveel.
She strongly recommended the restaurant.
The stress trap: oorkom and friends
A final warning for any verb beginning with oor-, deur-, om-, onder-, aan-, voor-: some of these particles can be either separable or inseparable, and the meaning changes with the stress. The textbook pair is oorkom:
| Form | Stress | Meaning | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| óórkom (separable) | on the particle | come over, come across | oorgekom |
| oorkóm (inseparable) | on the stem | overcome, befall | oorkom |
Kan jy môre na ons toe oorkom?
Can you come over to us tomorrow?
Sy het haar vrees vir water oorkom.
She overcame her fear of water.
The first oorkom is separable (kom ... oor, participle oorgekom); the second is inseparable (no split, participle oorkom, no ge-). The same split affects deurdink, omgaan, ondergaan and others. When in doubt, listen for the stress: particle stress = separable, stem stress = inseparable. This is the same stress rule that decides the ge- prefix on past participles, and it is covered for these ambiguous pairs on particle vs prefix pairs.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek het die fout nie geraaksien nie.
Incorrect — the ge- infixes inside: raakgesien, not geraaksien.
✅ Ek het die fout nie raakgesien nie.
I didn't spot the mistake.
❌ Sy het die restaurant aangebeveel.
Incorrect — beveel blocks the ge-; the participle is aanbeveel.
✅ Sy het die restaurant aanbeveel.
She recommended the restaurant.
❌ Almal het die voorstel ingestem.
Incorrect — instem takes met: instem met die voorstel.
✅ Almal het met die voorstel ingestem.
Everyone agreed to the proposal.
❌ Dit hang op die weer af.
Incorrect — afhang takes van, not op: dit hang af van die weer.
✅ Dit hang af van die weer.
It depends on the weather.
❌ Hy het sy belofte nagekomme.
Incorrect — the participle of nakom is nagekom, no extra ending.
✅ Hy het sy belofte nagekom.
He kept his promise.
Key takeaways
- Beyond the basics, many separable verbs are figurative: toegee = admit/concede, nakom = fulfil, instem = agree, raaksien = spot — learn them as whole vocabulary items, not as particle + stem.
- The mechanics are constant: split in the main clause (gee ... toe), joined after dat/om te (toegee), participle with infixed ge- and written solid (toegegee, raakgesien, ingestem).
- Watch the prepositions: instem met, afsien van, afhang van — these are the real B2 difficulty.
- Two irregular shapes: aanbeveel takes no ge- in the participle (aanbeveel) because beveel already blocks it; afhang van is mostly used in the present (dit hang af van...).
- Beware stress-ambiguous particles: óórkom (separable, "come over", oorgekom) vs oorkóm (inseparable, "overcome", oorkom) — particle stress means separable. See particle vs prefix pairs.
- For the core everyday verbs see the common separable verbs list; for every particle's behaviour see separable prefixes reference.
Now practice Afrikaans
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Common Separable Verbs (Reference)A2 — A reference table of the most frequent Afrikaans separable verbs, each shown in its split main-clause form, its joined subordinate-clause form, and its past participle.
- Separable Particles Reference: op, aan, uit, in, af, by, saam, terugB1 — A reference to the productive separable particles — op, aan, uit, in, af, by, saam, terug, mee — and the consistent meaning each one contributes to the verb it joins.
- 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.
- Separable Verbs: opstaan, aankom, uitgaanA2 — How separable verbs split — the stressed particle drops to the end of a main clause but rejoins the stem in subordinate clauses and infinitives.
- Same Particle, Two Verbs: deurloop vs deurloopC1 — A handful of Afrikaans verbs are spelled identically but split into a separable, literal verb and an inseparable, figurative one — distinguished by stress alone, with different participles.
- Inseparable Prefixes: be-, ver-, ont-, her-, er-, ge-B1 — The unstressed bound prefixes be-, ge-, her-, ont-, ver- and er- that never detach from the verb and suppress the ge- of the past participle — with stress as the diagnostic.