Questions & Answers about Ons keer môre terug.
What does each word in Ons keer môre terug do?
Why is terug at the end?
In Afrikaans, verbs with a separable particle often split in a main clause.
Here, the full idea is terugkeer = to return.
In a normal main clause:
- Ons keer môre terug.
So:
- keer is the finite verb in second position
- terug moves to the end
This is very common in Afrikaans and similar to Dutch.
Is terugkeer one word or two words?
Both, depending on the structure.
- As a dictionary form / infinitive idea: terugkeer
- In a main clause with normal word order: keer ... terug
For example:
- Ons wil môre terugkeer. = We want to return tomorrow.
- Ons keer môre terug. = We return tomorrow.
So yes, it belongs together as one verb, but it often appears split.
Does keer normally mean return?
Not always. Keer has several uses in Afrikaans.
Common ones include:
- to turn
- to stop / ward off
- as part of terugkeer = to return
So in this sentence, keer by itself is not just the plain English verb return; it is the verb part of the separable verb terugkeer.
Why is there no special future tense marker? How do I know it means the future?
Afrikaans often uses the present form to talk about the future when there is a time word such as môre.
So:
- Ons keer môre terug.
is understood as future because môre tells you the action happens tomorrow.
This is similar to English sentences like:
- We leave tomorrow.
- We come back tomorrow.
You can also use sal for an explicit future:
- Ons sal môre terugkeer.
- Ons sal môre terugkom.
But in everyday speech, the simple form is very normal.
Does môre mean tomorrow or morning?
It can mean either, depending on context.
- môre = tomorrow
- more without the accent is generally the older/plain spelling for morning in some contexts, but modern standard Afrikaans commonly uses môre for tomorrow, while oggend is often used for morning when clarity is needed.
In Ons keer môre terug, it clearly means tomorrow.
If you wanted to be very clear about tomorrow morning, you could say:
- Ons keer môreoggend terug.
Can I also say Ons kom môre terug?
Can I say Ons terugkeer môre?
Not in a normal main clause.
Afrikaans main clauses usually put the finite verb in the second position. That is why you get:
- Ons keer môre terug.
Not:
- Ons terugkeer môre.
But after another verb, the unsplit infinitive form can appear:
- Ons wil môre terugkeer.
So the structure depends on whether the verb is finite or infinitive.
Could the time word go somewhere else in the sentence?
How would I make this negative?
How do you pronounce môre?
Is ons only we, or can it mean something else?
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning AfrikaansMaster Afrikaans — from Ons keer môre terug to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions