Ek onthou jou belofte.

I

Breakdown of Ek onthou jou belofte.

• jou: your
• die belofte: the promise
• onthou: to remember

Questions & Answers about Ek onthou jou belofte.

What does each word in Ek onthou jou belofte mean and what are their parts of speech?

• Ek = I (subject pronoun)
• onthou = remember (verb)
• jou = your (possessive pronoun)
• belofte = promise (noun)

How is onthou pronounced in Afrikaans?

A close approximation in IPA is /ɔnˈtʰəu/. In more familiar spelling you could write it as ohn-THOH, with a slightly aspirated t and a long ou as in English go.

Why is there no preposition before jou belofte, while in Dutch I sometimes see onthouden aan?

In Afrikaans onthou is a direct transitive verb, just like English remember. It takes a direct object (jou belofte) without any preposition. The Dutch cognate onthouden also usually has no aan for “remember”; you use herinneren aan to mean “remind.”

What’s the difference between onthou and herinner?

• onthou = to remember (I recall something)
• herinner = to remind (I cause someone else to remember)

Example:
• Ek onthou jou belofte = I remember your promise.
• Ek herinner jou aan jou belofte = I remind you of your promise.

Why is the possessive pronoun jou placed before the noun? And does it change with formality?

In Afrikaans the possessive pronoun always precedes the noun without an article: jou belofte. jou is used for singular you in both informal and neutral contexts. There’s a formal old-fashioned variant u, but it’s very rare in modern Afrikaans.

Can jou belofte mean both “your promise” as a thing and “the fact that you promised”? How would you say “I remember that you promised”?

jou belofte usually means the noun your promise. If you want to stress “I remember that you promised (something),” you’d use a clause:
Ek onthou dat jy belowe het …
Here belowe is the verb “to promise.”

How do I say “I will remember your promise” in Afrikaans?

Use the future marker sal:
Ek sal jou belofte onthou.

How do I form the plural of belofte?

Add -s: beloftes.

Does belofte have grammatical gender in Afrikaans?

No, Afrikaans does not mark grammatical gender. Both definite and indefinite forms are:
• definite: die belofte
• indefinite: ’n belofte

Could I drop Ek and just say Onthou jou belofte?

Not in a standard main clause. Afrikaans is not pro-drop, so you normally include the subject pronoun. Onthou jou belofte could only work as a bare imperative: “Remember your promise!”