Questions & Answers about Ons wag vir die vertrek.
Why do we use the preposition vir after wag here? I thought in Dutch you say wachten op.
How can I tell if vertrek is a noun here (“departure”) or a verb (“to leave”)?
Both the verb vertrek (“to leave”) and the noun vertrek (“departure”) share the same spelling. In this sentence it’s a noun because it’s preceded by the definite article die (“the”). If it were the verb, you’d see it conjugated (e.g. jy vertrek “you leave”) and no article.
Why is the present tense wag used here for an ongoing action? Is there a continuous aspect in Afrikaans like English “am waiting”?
Afrikaans does not have a separate continuous tense. You use the simple present (e.g. ons wag) for both habitual actions (“we wait”) and ongoing actions (“we are waiting”). Context tells you which meaning applies.
How would I say “We waited for the departure”? How do you form the past tense?
You use the perfect construction with het + past participle of wag. That gives:
Ons het vir die vertrek gewag
(“We waited” / “We have waited for the departure”). There’s no separate simple past like in English.