Ek wou eintlik vroeg vertrek, maar my handsak was nie daar nie en ek kon dit nêrens vind nie.

Wou is the past form normally used for wil (to want).

• Ek wil vroeg vertrek = I want to leave early
• Ek wou vroeg vertrek = I wanted / intended to leave early

In this sentence, wou shows that the wanting or intention was in the past.

Eintlik usually means actually, really, or in fact.

So Ek wou eintlik vroeg vertrek means something like:

• I actually wanted to leave early
• I had really intended to leave early

It adds a nuance of that was the original plan or intention.

A useful warning: eintlik does not mean eventually.
For eventually, Afrikaans usually uses uiteindelik.

In Afrikaans, adverbs like vroeg often come before the infinitive at the end of the verb phrase.

So:

• vroeg vertrek = leave early

This is very normal after a modal-like verb such as wou:

• Ek wou vroeg vertrek
• Sy kan môre kom
• Ons moet nou gaan

So the order here is standard Afrikaans word order.

Vertrek means to depart or to leave, especially in the sense of setting off.

Compared with some other common verbs:

• vertrek = depart, set off
• gaan = go
• weggaan = go away, leave

So vroeg vertrek sounds a bit more like leave early / depart early, while vroeg weggaan would be more everyday go away early / leave early.

My is the normal possessive adjective meaning my.

So:

• my handsak = my handbag

Afrikaans possessives are simple:

• my boek = my book
• jou motor = your car
• haar handsak = her handbag

There is no apostrophe like in English John’s bag when you use possessive adjectives such as my, jou, ons, etc.

Also, handsak means handbag and can also be understood as purse depending on context.

This is one of the most important features of standard Afrikaans: double negation.

To make a sentence negative, Afrikaans often uses:

• a first nie
• and then a second nie near the end of the clause

So:

• My handsak was daar. = My handbag was there.
• My handsak was nie daar nie. = My handbag was not there.

English only uses one not, but standard Afrikaans usually needs both nie words.

With wees (to be), the first nie often comes after the verb and before the rest of the description or location.

So:

• Hy is hier. → Hy is nie hier nie.
• Die boek is op die tafel. → Die boek is nie op die tafel nie.
• My handsak was daar. → My handsak was nie daar nie.

So the pattern was nie daar nie is completely normal.

Nêrens means nowhere.

So:

• Ek kon dit nêrens vind nie = I could find it nowhere / I couldn’t find it anywhere

Even though nêrens is already negative in meaning, standard Afrikaans still usually adds the final nie. This is part of Afrikaans negative structure.

You see the same kind of thing with other negative words:

• Ek sien niemand nie. = I see nobody.
• Hy het niks gesê nie. = He said nothing.
• Ons gaan nooit daarheen nie. = We never go there.

So nêrens ... nie is normal.

This is standard Afrikaans word order with a modal verb.

• kon is the finite verb (could) and goes in second position.
• vind is the main verb (find) and goes to the end.
• dit and nêrens stay in the middle.

So the structure is:

Ek | kon | dit nêrens | vind | nie

Compare:

• Ek kan dit vind. = I can find it.
• Ek kon dit nêrens vind nie. = I could find it nowhere.

This verb-final pattern is very common after verbs like:

• kan / kon
• wil / wou
• moet
• sal
• mag

Dit means it, and here it refers back to my handsak.

So:

• my handsak → dit

Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way some other languages do, so for things, dit is the normal pronoun.

Example:

• Ek sien die boek. Ek neem dit.
• Sy soek haar handsak. Sy kan dit nie kry nie.

So dit is exactly what you would expect here.

Kon is the past form of kan (can / be able to).

• Ek kan dit vind. = I can find it.
• Ek kon dit vind. = I could find it.

So in this sentence:

• wou = wanted / intended
• was = was
• kon = could

This helps show that the whole sentence is talking about a past situation.

They connect different parts of the story:

• maar = but
• en = and

So the sentence moves in stages:

1. Ek wou eintlik vroeg vertrek
   → I had actually wanted to leave early
2. maar my handsak was nie daar nie
   → but my handbag wasn’t there
3. en ek kon dit nêrens vind nie
   → and I couldn’t find it anywhere

This is a very natural way to link events in Afrikaans, just as in English.

Yes. Depending on context, wou can suggest not only a wish, but also an intention or plan.

So it may mean:

• I wanted to leave early
• I had intended to leave early
• I was actually planning to leave early

In this sentence, that makes sense because the second half explains why that did not happen: the speaker’s handbag was missing.