Hulle hoef nie juwele te bring nie.

they

Breakdown of Hulle hoef nie juwele te bring nie.

• bring: to bring
• hoef nie ... te ... nie: need not; do not have to
• die juwele: jewellery

Questions & Answers about Hulle hoef nie juwele te bring nie.

Why are there two nies in this sentence?

Afrikaans usually makes a full negative with nie ... nie.

In Hulle hoef nie juwele te bring nie, the first nie comes after the finite verb hoef, and the second nie closes the sentence.

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + nie + rest + nie

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in Afrikaans.

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What does hoef mean here?

Hoef means need to or have to, but it is most commonly used in negative sentences.

So:

• Hulle hoef nie ... nie = They do not need to ...
• Ek hoef nie te gaan nie = I do not need to go

In everyday Afrikaans, hoef is strongly associated with not needing to.

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Why is it hoef nie ... te bring nie and not just hoef ... bring?