Ons sal by die winkel aankom.

We will arrive at the store.

Breakdown of Ons sal by die winkel aankom.

• ons: we
• by: at
• die winkel: the store
• sal: will

Questions & Answers about Ons sal by die winkel aankom.

Why do we use sal plus an infinitive to form the future tense in Afrikaans?

In Afrikaans the future tense is built with the auxiliary sal (equivalent to “will”) followed by the infinitive of the main verb—in this case aankom. So Ons sal aankom literally means “We will arrive.”

Why is aankom placed at the end of the sentence instead of directly after sal?

Afrikaans follows a verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb (sal) comes second, and the main verb (aankom) moves to the very end. Any objects or prepositional phrases (like by die winkel) sit in between.

What does by mean in by die winkel aankom? Isn’t by usually “by” or “near”?

In the fixed expression by ’n plek aankom, by translates as “at.” Thus Ons sal by die winkel aankom = “We will arrive at the store.” If you used na die winkel, it would mean “towards the store,” focusing on movement rather than arrival.

Could I instead say Ons kom by die winkel aan to mean “We will arrive at the store”?

Ons kom by die winkel aan is grammatically correct but is present tense (“we arrive” or “we are arriving”). To specifically mark the future, you need sal + infinitive. Without sal, you’re not clearly talking about a future event.