Breakdown of Ons sper die struikelgevaar met die versperring af.
ons
we
met
with
die versperring
barrier
die struikelgevaar
trip hazard
Questions & Answers about Ons sper die struikelgevaar met die versperring af.
Why is af at the end of the sentence instead of next to sper?
Because the full verb is afsper, which is a separable verb in Afrikaans.
In a normal main clause:
- the conjugated part goes near the beginning: sper
- the separable particle goes to the end: af
So:
- Ons sper ... af.
This is very similar to verbs in Dutch and German, and a bit like English phrasal verbs such as seal off or block off, except Afrikaans follows the split more systematically.
Is afsper one verb or two words?
It is one verb lexically, so you would usually look it up as afsper in a dictionary.
But in actual sentences, it can appear:
- split in a main clause: Ons sper ... af
- together in other forms, such as:
- infinitive: om af te sper
- past participle: afgesper
So it is best to think of it as one separable verb.
What does struikelgevaar literally mean?