Ek hou van die swemsessie.

I like the swim session.

Breakdown of Ek hou van die swemsessie.

• ek: I
• die: the
• hou van: to like
• die swemsessie: the swim session

Questions & Answers about Ek hou van die swemsessie.

What does Ek hou van mean in this sentence and how is hou van used?

Ek means “I.” hou van literally “hold of,” but it’s the standard way to say “to like” in Afrikaans. It’s a verb-plus-preposition combination that stays together. Use it like this:
• Subject + hou van + object/activity
Example: Ek hou van koffie. (“I like coffee.”)

Why is van included, and what part of speech is it?

van is a preposition meaning “of” or “from.” In hou van, it links the verb hou (“to hold”) to what you like. Without van, hou is just “to hold” (e.g. Ek hou die boek = I hold the book).

Why is there die before swemsessie, and how do you say it if it’s not a specific session?

die is the definite article “the.” Here it makes die swemsessie = “the swimming session.” If you mean “a swimming session” (nonspecific), use the indefinite article ’n:
Ek hou van ’n swemsessie.
(“I like a swimming session.”)

How is swemsessie formed, and is it a compound noun?

Yes. swemsessie combines swem (“swim”) + sessie (borrowed from English “session”). Afrikaans regularly joins nouns into one word without spaces.

How do you make this sentence negative?

Afrikaans uses a double nie for negation. Insert one after the verb phrase and one at the end:
Ek hou nie van die swemsessie nie.
This literally marks “I like not … not.”

How would you pluralize swemsessie?

Add -s to the compound: swemsessies.
So “the swimming sessions” = die swemsessies.

What if I want to say “I like swimming sessions in general,” without any article?

Use the plural noun without an article:
Ek hou van swemsessies.
This expresses liking them generally, not specific ones.

How do you pronounce swemsessie?

Approximate phonetic: /ˈsvɛm-sɛ-si/.
• swem sounds like “svem” (short e as in “bed”)
• sessie sounds like “se-si” (both e’s as in “bed”)