Breakdown of Moet ons die afspraak verander?
Questions & Answers about Moet ons die afspraak verander?
Word by word:
• moet = must / should / need to
• ons = we / us
• die = the
• afspraak = appointment / agreement
• verander = change
Putting it naturally into English gives: “Should we change the appointment?”
You invert the finite verb and the subject. Compare the statement:
“Ons moet die afspraak verander.”
For a yes/no question, swap moet and ons:
“Moet ons die afspraak verander?”
Afrikaans follows a verb-second (V2) rule with modal verbs:
- The finite verb (moet) goes first.
- The subject (ons) goes second.
- The non-finite main verb (infinitive verander) goes to the end.
Rough phonetic: /mʏt ɔns di ˈɑfspraːk fərˈɑndər/
Approximate guide:
• Moet = “moot” (short “oo,” like English “foot”)
• ons = “uns” (rhymes with “once” without the c)
• die = “dee”
• afspraak = “AHF-spraahk” (first syllable stressed)
• verander = “fuh-RAN-dur”
Yes.
• Past tense uses moes (“did have to”):
“Moes ons die afspraak verander?” = “Did we have to change the appointment?”
• Future uses sal + infinitive:
“Sal ons die afspraak verander?” = “Will we change the appointment?”
• Moet ons… = “Should we / Do we have to…” (asking about necessity or advice)
• Sal ons… = “Shall we / Will we…” (asking about a future plan or polite suggestion)
Die is the definite article “the,” used here because you’re talking about a specific appointment. If you wanted to say “our appointment,” you’d use a possessive pronoun instead:
“Moet ons ons afspraak verander?” = “Should we change our appointment?”
Negative yes/no questions use the double-negation pattern in Afrikaans:
“Moet ons nie die afspraak verander nie?”
Literally: “Should we not change the appointment?” functionally “Shouldn’t we change the appointment?”