Breakdown of Ek herinner my vriend dat ons afspraak by die hospitaal vroeg môre is.
ek
I
die
the
wees
to be
my
my
die vriend
the friend
by
at
ons
our
môre
tomorrow
dat
that
die hospitaal
the hospital
vroeg
early
die afspraak
the appointment
herinner
to remind
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Questions & Answers about Ek herinner my vriend dat ons afspraak by die hospitaal vroeg môre is.
Why does this sentence use herinner instead of onthou?
herinner means “to remind someone of something,” whereas onthou means “to remember” (i.e., keep something in mind yourself). You use herinner when you prompt someone else:
- Ek herinner my vriend dat ons afspraak …
If you simply recall the appointment yourself, you’d say: - Ek onthou die afspraak.
Why is there no aan before my vriend?
In Afrikaans herinner can directly take the person being reminded as its object: herinner iemand dat … You may also add daaraan (“remind someone of something”)—herinner iemand daaraan dat …—but it isn’t required. So Ek herinner my vriend dat … is perfectly correct without aan.
Why does the verb is appear at the end of the dat-clause?
Subordinate clauses introduced by dat follow a simple Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order in Afrikaans. Only main clauses use the V2 (verb-second) rule. Hence:
dat ons afspraak (subject) + is (verb) + vroeg môre (complement).
Why is it vroeg môre and not vroeë môre or vroeër môre?
- vroeë is an adjectival form (would require agreement) and isn’t used as a time-adverb here.
- vroeër means “earlier” (typically “earlier today”).
- vroeg is an adverb meaning “early” in the fixed phrase vroeg môre, i.e. “early tomorrow morning.”
When should I say by die hospitaal instead of in die hospitaal?
- Use by for appointments or events taking place at a location: “at the hospital.”
- Use in when emphasizing being inside the building (e.g. “in die hospitaal as ‘n pasiënt”).
So for an appointment, by die hospitaal is standard.
What does ons mean in ons afspraak?
ons is the possessive pronoun “our.” Therefore ons afspraak translates as “our appointment.”
Is the article die always needed before hospitaal?
Yes. When referring to a specific, countable place in Afrikaans, you typically use die: die hospitaal, die winkel, die skool, etc.
Can I leave out dat and say Ek herinner my vriend ons afspraak …?
No. Afrikaans requires dat to introduce a subordinate clause. Omitting it renders the sentence ungrammatical.
Should there be a comma before dat?
In Afrikaans you normally do not insert a comma before dat in sentences like this. You write Ek herinner my vriend dat … without a comma.