Negative Sentences in Afrikaans: How to Use “nie…nie” (The Double Negative)

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

Making sentences negative in Afrikaans can be tricky because the rules are very different from English. Once you understand them, they’re easy to apply. Learn to master the double negative (nie... nie) with clear explanations and examples.

How to make sentences negative in Afrikaans

Negative sentences in Afrikaans always have a “nie” in them. “Nie” roughly means “not” when translated into English.

The typical structure of a negative sentence in Afrikaans looks like this:

Subject + verb + nie (negative) + rest of the sentence + nie (negative) 

Think of the word “nie” as wrapping around the sentence to indicate that it is negative.

Example 1:

“Ek sien nie die honde nie.”

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

I (subject) + see (verb) + not (negative) + the dogs (rest of the sentence) + not (negative)

Example 2:

“Sy is nie by die huis nie.”

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

She (subject) + is (verb) + not (negative) + at the house (rest of the sentence) + not (negative)

When is "nie" replaced in the sentence

All Afrikaans negative sentences get an "nie" at the end, but not all get another "nie" within the sentence.

If the sentence already uses a negative word, it replaces the first "nie".

The typical structure of this type of negative sentence in Afrikaans would look like this:

Subject + verb + negative word + rest of the sentence + nie.

Example 3:

"Daar is niemand by die huis nie."

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

There (subject) + is (verb) + no one (negative word) + at the house (rest of the sentence) + not (negative)

Example 4:

"Sy het geen geld in die bank nie."

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

She (subject) + has (verb) + no (negative word) + money in the bank (rest of the sentence) + not (negative)

When do you only use one "nie"

We remove the first "nie" from the sentence if the rest of the sentence is only one pronoun.

The sentence structure for this type of sentence is:

Subject + verb + rest of the sentence (only one pronoun) + nie (negative)

Be on the lookout for the following words:

my (me), hom (him), haar (her), dit (it), jou (you – one person), julle (you – multiple people), ons (us), hulle (them)

Example 5

"Ek ken hom nie."

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

I (subject) + know (verb) + him (rest of the sentence) + not (negative)

Example 6

"Sy sien my nie."

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

She (subject) + sees (verb) + me (rest of the sentence) + not (negative)

If the sentence is just subject and verb

You also only use one "nie" if the sentence just  has a subject and verb.

The sentence structure for this is type of sentence is:

Subject + verb + nie (negative)

Example 7

"Ek weet nie."

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

I (subject) + know + not (negative)

Example 8

"Sy sien nie."

Translated directly into English, the sentence would look like this:

She (subject) + see + not (negative)

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References.

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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