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Ek vind niks in my sak nie.

Ek vind niks in my sak nie.
I find nothing in my pocket.
FromLesson 13inHardcore Afrikaans

Breakdown of Ek vind niks in my sak nie.

ek
I
my
my
in
in
nie
not
vind
to find
die sak
the pocket
niks
nothing

Questions & Answers about Ek vind niks in my sak nie.

What does niks mean and how is it used here?
Niks is an indefinite negative pronoun meaning nothing or not anything. In this sentence it functions like English nothing, and it pairs with the final nie to form the complete negation “I don’t find anything.”
Why is there a nie at the end of the sentence?
In Afrikaans negative clauses generally end with nie. When you have another negative element (like niks), that’s the first negator and the final nie is the second. Together they give the sense “I do not … anything.”
Could I use geen instead of niks?

You can use geen only before a noun, because geen is a negative article. For example:
Ek vind geen geld in my sak nie
“I find no money in my bag.”
You cannot say Ek vind geen in my sak nie, since geen must directly modify a noun.

Why is the word order Ek vind niks in my sak nie rather than Ek vind nie niks in my sak?

Standard Afrikaans uses just one initial negative element (here niks) and one final nie. Inserting nie before niks would create an ungrammatical double nie at the start. The fixed order is:
Subject – Verb – Negative pronoun/object – (Other elements) – nie.

Can I say Ek vind niks in my sak without the final nie?
In formal standard Afrikaans, no. Whenever another negative word like niks appears, you need the final nie. Omitting it sounds incomplete or overly colloquial.
What’s the difference between sak and tas?

Both can translate as bag, but:
• Sak often means a pocket or small sack.
• Tas usually refers to a larger container (handbag, backpack, suitcase).
So my sak often implies “my pocket” or a small bag.

How would I say this sentence in the past tense?

Use the past auxiliary het, move the main verb to the end as a past participle, and keep nie at the end:
Ek het niks in my sak gevind nie
(“I found nothing in my bag.”)

More from this lesson

die sleutelsodatEk sluit die venster sodat ons kamer koel bly.vergeetEk hou die sleutel in my sak sodat ek dit nie vergeet nie.lêdie kombersdie vloer
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