Mastering Afrikaans Pronouns: Part 2 – Possessive Pronouns

📘 Who this is for: CAPS, IEB, Cambridge students (FAL and SAL Grades 7–12) and adult Afrikaans learners.

Learn how to use possessive pronouns depending on where they are placed in a sentence. Learn when to use words like “hom,” “sy,” and “syne.” By the end of the lesson, you’ll be able to use possessive pronouns correctly in sentences.

Die Besitlike voornaamwoord (The possessive pronoun)

The possessive pronoun indicates possession.

The possessive pronouns are: my, jou, sy, haar, ons, julle, hulle

Personal pronoun	Possessive pronouns	Personal pronouns Examples	Possessive pronouns Examples
Ek (I)	My (my)	Ek eet die koek.	Ek eet my koek.
Jy (you)	Jou (your)	Jy eet die koek.	Jy eet jou koek.
Hy (he)	Sy (his)	Hy eet die koek.	Hy eet sy koek.
Sy (she)	Haar (her)	Sy eet die koek.	Sy eet haar koek.
Ons (we)	Ons (our)	Ons eet die koek.	Ons eet ons koek.
Julle (you – more than one person)	Julle (you – more than one person)	Julle eet die koek.	Julle eet julle koek.
Hulle (they)	Hulle (their)	Hulle eet die koek.	Hulle eet hulle koek.

When do possessive pronouns change?

The possessive pronoun usually stays like you see above. There aren’t many exceptions.

It stays like the same 

·        When its at the start of the sentence.

·        In the middle of a sentence.

·        And sometimes if it’s at the end of a sentence.

 

Possesive pronoun at the start of the sentence	Possesive pronoun  in the middle of the sentence	Possesive pronoun at the end if the sentence
My kar is stukkend.	Ek eet my koek.	Die kar behoort aan my.
Jou kar is stukkend.	Jy eet jou koek.	Die kar behoort aan jou.
Sy kar is stukkend.	Hy eet sy koek.	Die kar behoort aan hom. *
Haar kar is stukkend.	Sy eet haar koek.	Die kar behoort aan haar.
Ons kar is stukkend.	Ons eet ons koek.	Die kar behoort aan ons.
Julle kar is stukkend.	Julle eet julle koek.	Die kar behoort aan julle.
Hulle kar is stukkend.	Hulle eet hulle koek.	Die kar behoort aan hulle.

*The word changes to hom if it comes after “behoort aan.”

If there is not a "Behoort aand" (Belongs too) at the end of the sentence.

Be on the lookout for possessive pronouns at the end of the sentence. If they are used without the word "behoort aan" (belongs to) they must change.

This is because without this change it’s not always clear that someone owns something. 

Possesive pronoun at the start of the sentence	Possesive pronoun  in the middle of the sentence	Possesive pronoun at the end if the sentence
My kar is stukkend.	Ek eet my koek.	Die kar is myne.
Jou kar is stukkend.	Jy eet jou koek.	Die kar is joune.
Sy kar is stukkend.	Hy eet sy koek.	Die kar is syne.
Haar kar is stukkend.	Sy eet haar koek.	Die kar is hare.*
Ons kar is stukkend.	Ons eet ons koek.	Die kar is ons s’n.**
Julle kar is stukkend.	Julle eet julle koek.	Die kar is julle s’n.**
Hulle kar is stukkend.	Hulle eet hulle koek.	Die kar is hulle s’n.**

* All singular possessive pronouns get an -ne at the end except for “haar” that turns into “hare.”

** This is the only instance where plural pronouns ever change.

 Click the following link to go to the next lesson:

Mastering Afrikaans Pronouns: Part 3 – Personal Pronouns (including exceptions)

 

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Refrecences.

Lutrin, B. (1999). Afrikaans handbook & study guide: An English student’s guide to Afrikaans. Sandton: Berlut Books.

de Jonge, A. (n.d.). Leer Afrikaans sonder om jou rieme styf te loop. Graffiti Boeke.

De Klerk, P. F., Esterhuizen, B. J., Hammann, H. J. R., & Neethling, E. L. (1986). Afrikaans my taal. Maskew Miller Longman.

Nel, M. (2019). Afrikaans+: Everything you need to obtain top marks. LAPA Uitgewers.

 

The majority of this course content is based on the author’s experience, practice, and self-study.

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