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

Wil is the present tense form: I want / wants.

Wou is the past form: wanted to.

So:

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

Afrikaans often uses forms like wou and kon very naturally in past-time statements, especially with modal-type verbs.

Because wou is the finite verb in the main clause, and the main verb vertrek stays at the end.

A very common Afrikaans pattern is:

Subject + finite verb + ... + infinitive at the end

So:

• Ek wou eintlik vroeg vertrek
• literally structured like: I wanted actually early leave

The same thing happens later in the sentence:

• ek kon dit nerens vind nie

Here kon is the finite verb, and vind goes to the end.

Eintlik usually means actually, really, or in fact.

In this sentence it shows the speaker’s original intention:

• Ek wou eintlik vroeg vertrek = I actually wanted to leave early.

It often adds a slight nuance of contrast, especially when something prevented the plan from happening.

Handsak means handbag.

Depending on the variety of English, a learner might also think of purse, but handbag is usually the safest translation. It refers to the bag a person carries, not just a small coin purse or wallet.

This is the standard Afrikaans negative pattern, often called the double negative.

In many ordinary negative sentences, Afrikaans uses:

nie ... nie

So:

• my handsak was nie daar nie = my handbag was not there

The first nie appears after the verb or after the part being negated, and the second nie closes the clause.

This is normal standard Afrikaans, even though it may look unusual to an English speaker.

Because in standard Afrikaans, words like nerens (nowhere) are already negative, but the clause still usually ends with nie.

So:

• ek kon dit nerens vind nie

Even though nerens already means nowhere / not anywhere, the final nie is still expected in standard Afrikaans.

The same happens with other negative words such as:

• niks = nothing
• niemand = nobody
• nooit = never

For example:

• Ek sien niemand nie = I see nobody.
• Hy eet niks nie = He eats nothing.

Because dit is the normal pronoun for a thing or object.

Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender in the same way as some other languages, so for an object like handsak, dit is completely normal:

• my handsak ... ek kon dit nerens vind nie

So dit here means it.

Afrikaans word order puts the parts in a fairly regular pattern here:

Subject + finite verb + object pronoun + adverb + infinitive + nie

So:

• ek = subject
• kon = finite verb
• dit = object pronoun
• nerens = adverb
• vind = infinitive
• nie = clause-final negative marker

That gives:

ek kon dit nerens vind nie

Short pronouns like dit often come quite early in the clause, before words like nerens.

Vroeg means early.

Vroeër means earlier.

So in this sentence:

• vroeg vertrek = leave early

If you said vroeër vertrek, that would mean leave earlier than some other time.

They are similar, but not exactly the same.

• vertrek = depart / leave
• weggaan = go away / leave
• gaan = go

Vertrek often sounds a little more specific or slightly more formal than gaan, and it fits very naturally when talking about leaving at a certain time.

So vroeg vertrek is a very natural way to say leave early.

Because the sentence contains three linked ideas:

1. Ek wou eintlik vroeg vertrek
2. maar my handsak was nie daar nie
3. en ek kon dit nerens vind nie

Maar means but, so it introduces a contrast with the speaker’s plan.

En means and, so it adds another related fact.

Together they create a natural flow:

• I wanted to leave early,
• but my handbag wasn’t there,
• and I couldn’t find it anywhere.