Die student wag by die stasie vir die bus.

to wait

Breakdown of Die student wag by die stasie vir die bus.

• vir: for
• by: at
• die bus: the bus
• die stasie: the station
• die student: the student

Questions & Answers about Die student wag by die stasie vir die bus.

Why is the verb wag not inflected with an -s or -t for “he waits”?

In Afrikaans the present‐tense form of a verb never changes according to the subject. Where English has “he waits,” Afrikaans simply uses wag for all persons: ek wag, jy wag, hy/sy wag, etc. There is no subject–verb agreement ending in the present tense.

Which preposition do you use with wag to mean “wait for” something?

Afrikaans uses vir after wag to express “wait for.” So you always say wag vir. This differs from Dutch (wachten op); in standard Afrikaans you would not say wag op.

What does by die stasie mean, and why is by used here?

by is the preposition for “at” or “by” in the sense of being at a location. by die stasie literally means at the station. If you wanted to say “inside the station,” you’d use in die stasie; “on top of the station” would be op die stasie, but the usual way to express “at the station” is by die stasie.

Why is die used here, and how do you say “a student” instead of “the student”?

die is the definite article the. The indefinite article a is spelled 'n (pronounced /ən/). To say “A student waits at the station for the bus,” you write:
'n student wag by die stasie vir die bus

Can you move by die stasie and vir die bus around in the sentence? For example, is Die student wag vir die bus by die stasie also correct?

Yes. The basic word order is Subject–Verb–Object, but adverbial phrases of place or circumstance can often switch places with the object. Both
• Die student wag by die stasie vir die bus
and
• Die student wag vir die bus by die stasie
are grammatically correct. You might choose one over the other for slight differences in emphasis.

Does Afrikaans distinguish noun gender like German or French?

No. Afrikaans has no grammatical gender. Every definite noun—regardless of whether it’s a person or thing—takes the article die. To form the plural you add -e or -s, but the article stays die.

How would you say “The students are waiting at the station for the buses” in Afrikaans?

You pluralize the nouns and keep the rest the same:
Die studente wag by die stasie vir die busse.