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Questions & Answers about Ons vertrek vroeg.
What does Ons mean and how is it used?
Ons is the first-person plural pronoun meaning we. It also doubles as the possessive pronoun our without changing form, for example ons huis (our house).
Why doesn’t the verb vertrek change form for Ons?
In Afrikaans, present-tense verbs don’t conjugate for person or number. So you use vertrek for ek vertrek, jy vertrek, ons vertrek, etc.
What part of speech is vroeg and why is it placed after the verb?
Here vroeg is an adverb of time meaning early. Afrikaans typically follows a Subject–Verb–Adverb (SVA) order, so time adverbs follow the verb.
How do you form the negative of Ons vertrek vroeg?
Use the double negation nie ... nie: Ons vertrek nie vroeg nie, which means we’re not leaving early.
Could I say Ons gaan vroeg weg instead?
Yes. Ons vertrek vroeg is a bit more formal/neutral (“we depart early”), while Ons gaan vroeg weg (“we go away early”) is more colloquial and common in speech.
What’s the difference between vroeg and vroeger?
Vroeg means early, while vroeger is the comparative earlier or can mean formerly (as in Vroeger het ons..., “Formerly, we...”).
Can vroeg be used as an adjective before a noun?
Yes. When you use it attributively, it gets an -e ending and precedes the noun: die vroeë oggend (“the early morning”).
How do you pronounce the g in vroeg?
In South African Afrikaans, the g is a voiceless velar fricative , similar to the ch in the German ach, not like the English g in go.