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Questions & Answers about Ek wil my plan verbeter.
What does wil mean in this sentence? Does it mean the English future auxiliary will?
wil is a modal verb meaning want, not the English auxiliary will. So Ek wil my plan verbeter literally means I want to improve my plan, not I will improve my plan. To express future tense in Afrikaans you normally use sal, as in Ek sal my plan verbeter.
Why is there no om before verbeter like the English infinitive to improve?
With modal verbs such as wil, Afrikaans drops om and the infinitive follows directly. You say Ek wil verbeter, not Ek wil om te verbeter.
Why is verbeter placed after my plan? In English the structure is I want to improve my plan, so the infinitive comes before the object.
Afrikaans syntax for a main clause with a modal verb puts the finite verb in second position and pushes the non-finite verb to the end. The order is: Subject – finite verb – object – non-finite verb. Hence Ek (subject) wil (finite verb) my plan (object) verbeter (non-finite verb).
Does my change form depending on number or gender, like English my vs mine?
No. Afrikaans has no grammatical gender, and my serves both as the possessive for ek (I) and as the object pronoun (me). If you need a standalone possessive you use myne (mine) after the noun: Dit is my plan vs Dit is myne.
Can I drop my plan and just say Ek wil verbeter to mean I want to improve?
Yes, you can omit the object, but the meaning shifts to “I want to get better” (e.g. recover health or improve a skill). To specify your plan, you must include my plan.
Is plan in Afrikaans always masculine or feminine, or does it have a gender?
Afrikaans nouns are not gendered. plan remains plan in both singular and plural (plural: planne), and articles or adjectives do not change form for gender.
How would I make this sentence negative?
You wrap nie around the non-finite verb (and repeat it at the end):
Ek wil my plan nie verbeter nie
(literally: I want my plan not improve not).
How do you express “I will improve my plan” (pure future) instead of “I want to improve my plan”?
Use sal for future: Ek sal my plan verbeter. If you say Ek wil…, you’re expressing desire (“I want to…”), not simple future.