Ek gaan die sein en dekking na.

I

Breakdown of Ek gaan die sein en dekking na.

• en: and
• nagaan: to check
• die sein: the mobile signal

Questions & Answers about Ek gaan die sein en dekking na.

Why is na separated from gaan and put at the end?

Because the full verb is nagaan, which is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a normal main clause, the finite part of the verb moves to the second position, and the separated particle goes to the end:

• Ek gaan die sein en dekking na.

So gaan ... na here is not two unrelated words. Together they make the single verb nagaan.

Is gaan here the same as the English future idea in I am going to?

No. In this sentence, gaan ... na is the present-tense form of nagaan.

That means the sentence is using one main verb, not a future construction.

Compare these:

• Ek gaan die sein en dekking na. = I check / I am checking the signal and coverage.
• Ek gaan die sein en dekking nagaan. = I am going to check the signal and coverage.

So the position of na helps you see which meaning is intended.

What is the dictionary form of the verb in this sentence?

The dictionary form is nagaan.

That is the form you would normally look up in a dictionary. In this sentence, it appears split as:

• gaan ... na

This is very common with separable verbs in Afrikaans.