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Ek vertel hulle dat liefde groei wanneer familie saam lag.

Ek vertel hulle dat liefde groei wanneer familie saam lag.
I tell them that love grows when family laughs together.
FromLesson 11inHardcore Afrikaans

Questions & Answers about Ek vertel hulle dat liefde groei wanneer familie saam lag.

Why is dat necessary in “Ek vertel hulle dat liefde groei wanneer familie saam lag”? Can it ever be left out?

dat is the conjunction that introduces the subordinate clause (like that in English). It makes it clear you’re reporting what you tell them.

  • In formal or written Afrikaans you normally keep dat.
  • In casual spoken Afrikaans you might drop it—e.g. “Ek vertel hulle liefde groei…”—but that’s colloquial and not recommended in writing.
Why do verbs like vertel, groei and lag never change form for different subjects?

Afrikaans verbs are invariable: they do not conjugate for person or number. Whether your subject is ek, jy, hy/sy, ons or hulle, the verb form stays exactly the same. For example:

  • ek vertel, jy vertel, hy vertel
  • liefde groei, ons groei, hulle groei
  • familie lag, ek lag, julle lag
Why is there no article before liefde? Couldn’t you say die liefde?

When you speak of an abstract or general concept in Afrikaans, you normally omit the article:

  • liefde = “love” in general.
    Use die liefde only when you mean “the love” in a specific context or example.
Why is wan­neer used here for “when”? What about as or toe?
  • wan­neer is the standard temporal conjunction for general, present or future situations: “when family laughs (as a rule or in the future).”
  • as is mainly used for conditional or repeated scenarios (“if/whenever something happens”).
  • toe refers to one single past event (“when family laughed [that one time]”).
In the subordinating clause wan­neer familie saam lag, why does lag come at the very end?

Most Afrikaans subordinate clauses (especially those introduced by wan­neer, omdat, terwyl, toe, etc.) place the finite verb in final position. Hence you get:
wan­neer (subjunction) → familie (subject) → saam (adverb) → lag (verb).

Why is the adverb saam placed before the verb lag instead of after? Is that the only option?
Adverbs of manner can appear immediately before the verb in Afrikaans, especially in subordinate clauses. Placing saam before lag can add emphasis to the “togetherness” of the action. You can also say wan­neer familie lag saam, but wan­neer familie saam lag is more idiomatic here.
Why does vertel take hulle directly, without a preposition like aan or vir?

In Afrikaans vertel is a ditransitive verb—you can directly say Ek vertel hulle ’n storie (“I tell them a story”). Adding aan or vir is optional but not required:

  • compulsory: Ek vertel hulle dat…
  • optional: Ek vertel aan hulle dat… (a bit more emphatic or formal)
Can you start the sentence with the wan­neer clause? If so, how does that affect word order in the main clause?

Yes. You can front the time clause:
Wanneer familie saam lag, vertel ek hulle dat liefde groei.
Here’s what happens:

  1. wan­neer-familie-saam-lag becomes your opening adverbial.
  2. In the following main clause the verb vertel comes first, then the subject ek, then the object hulle, and so on.
Why isn’t there a comma before dat (and before wan­neer) in the original sentence?
Unlike English, Afrikaans generally does not use a comma before subordinate conjunctions such as dat, omdat, wan­neer, as, terwyl, etc. You treat the main and subordinate clause as one continuous sentence unless you need a strong stylistic pause.

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