Stap ná die blaaskans aan!

after

Breakdown of Stap ná die blaaskans aan!

• die blaaskans: breather; short rest
• aanstap: to walk on; continue walking

Questions & Answers about Stap ná die blaaskans aan!

What kind of sentence is Stap ná die blaaskans aan!?

It is an imperative, meaning a command or instruction.

In Afrikaans, the imperative often uses the bare verb at the start:

• Stap! = Walk!
• Kom! = Come!
• Wag! = Wait!

The subject is usually left out, just like in English. So the sentence is understood as speaking to you:

• (Jy) stap ná die blaaskans aan! would not normally be said that way, but that is the idea behind it.

So this sentence means something like Resume walking after the break! or Walk on after the breather!

Why is aan at the end instead of next to stap?

Because the verb here is really aanstap, which is a separable verb.

In Afrikaans, many verbs with particles split apart in main clauses and commands:

• aanstap → Stap ... aan!
• aangaan → Gaan ... aan!
• opstaan → Staan ... op!

So in this sentence:

• stap is the verb part
• aan is the particle
• ná die blaaskans is placed between them

That is completely normal Afrikaans word order.