Voordat sy intrek, onderteken sy die huurkontrak.

she

Breakdown of Voordat sy intrek, onderteken sy die huurkontrak.

• voordat: before
• die huurkontrak onderteken: to sign the lease agreement
• intrek: to move in

Questions & Answers about Voordat sy intrek, onderteken sy die huurkontrak.

Why does the sentence start with Voordat?

Voordat means before and introduces a time clause.

So in Voordat sy intrek, onderteken sy die huurkontrak, the first part Voordat sy intrek means Before she moves in.

It works much like English before when it introduces a full clause:

• Voordat sy intrek = Before she moves in
• Voordat ek eet = Before I eat

Why is the verb order onderteken sy instead of sy onderteken in the main clause?

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause: Voordat sy intrek.

In Afrikaans, when something other than the subject comes first in the sentence, the finite verb usually comes next in the main clause. This is often called the verb-second pattern.

So the structure is:

• Voordat sy intrek, = introductory clause
• onderteken sy die huurkontrak = main clause

If you started with the subject instead, you would get:

• Sy onderteken die huurkontrak voordat sy intrek.

Both are correct. The original sentence just puts the before clause first, so the verb onderteken comes before sy in the main clause.

Why is intrek one word? Does it mean the same as English move in?