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Questions & Answers about Ek kan raaisels oplos.
Why is kan in second position, and oplos at the end of the sentence?
Afrikaans follows a V2 (verb-second) word order in main clauses. The finite verb (here kan, “can”) sits in the second slot—right after the subject Ek—and any other verb (the full infinitive oplos, “solve”) goes to the very end. So you say Ek kan raaisels oplos, not Ek oplos kan raaisels.
Why isn’t there a te before oplos, like English uses “to solve”?
In Afrikaans you never insert te between a modal verb and an infinitive. Modals such as kan, moet, wil directly govern the following verb. That’s why it’s kan oplos, not kan te oplos.
Do I have to include ek? Can I just say Kan raaisels oplos like English sometimes drops “I”?
Afrikaans verbs don’t change form for person or number, so you need the subject pronoun in statements to show who’s doing the action. A full statement requires Ek kan raaisels oplos. (In a yes/no question you can drop ek and invert: Kan jy raaisels oplos?)
What does raaisels mean, and how do I form the singular?
Raaisels is the plural of raaisel, meaning “riddle.” Many Afrikaans nouns form their plural by adding -s (here raaisel → raaisels).
Why is there no article before raaisels? How would I say “I can solve the riddles”?
When talking about something in general or indefinite, you omit the article on plural nouns. To make it definite (“the riddles”), add die before the noun:
- Indefinite: Ek kan raaisels oplos. (“I can solve riddles.”)
- Definite: Ek kan die raaisels oplos. (“I can solve the riddles.”)
How do I express “I could solve riddles” in the past tense?
Replace kan with its past form kon. So Ek kon raaisels oplos means “I could solve riddles.”
Is oplos a separable verb? Can I split it like in German or Dutch?
Yes. You can split oplos into los … op if you like: Ek los raaisels op. Both forms are correct, though it’s very common in Afrikaans to keep the compound together at the end as oplos.
What’s the difference between los and oplos?
- los alone means “to let go,” “to lose,” or “to leave.”
- oplos (or los … op) is a compound verb meaning “to solve” (and in other contexts “to dissolve”).
So use oplos when you mean “solve puzzles, problems, riddles” etc.