The Infinitive in Afrikaans: om te – Part 1 (Basic)

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

Struggling with infinitives in Afrikaans? They can be particularly tricky because infinitives in Afrikaans are often made up of two words, “om te”, instead of one, “to”, like in English. By the end of this lesson, you should understand the basics of Afrikaans infinitives.

The Infinitive in Afrikaans

The function of the infinitive introduces a verb as an idea rather than the action itself.

The infinitive can be a bit tricky in Afrikaans because it has some additional rules we don't see in English.

 

What is the infinitive in English

In English the infinitive is the word “to.” It introduces a verb as a concept instead of something that is happening in it. 

Examples

I love to paint.

In this sentence, I love the idea of painting, but there isn’t any painting taking place.

I want to dance.

In this sentence I want to dance because I like the idea of dancing, but it's not clear if I will ever do so.

To eat is very enjoyable.

In this sentence, we are talking about the concept of eating. No one in particular is eating in this sentence.

 

The infinitive in Afrikaans

The infinitive in Afrikaans is "om te." Unlike English the Afrikaans infinitive is made up of 2 words instead of one.

It has an additional rule because of this, but it serves the same function as in English. 

Examples

Dit is prettig om te speel. (It is fun to play.)

In this sentence we see "speel" (play) being used as a concept not an action that is necessarily actually taking place.

Ek gaan skool toe om te leer. (I go to school to learn.)

In this sentence "leer" (learn) is used as an idea. We aren't predicting a future outcome instead we are saying why we are going to school.

For these sentences the structure of the infinitive is functionally the same as it is in English.

Additional rule for the infinitive in English

In English any additional information about the infinitive is moved to the back of the sentence.

Example

I go to the shop to buy apples and carrots.

In  this example "apples and carrots" goes behind the infinitive because. It tells us more about the infinitive because it tells us what we plan to buy.

Additional rule for the infinitive in English

unlike in English "om te" does not just introduce the verb, it also envelopes the words that tell us more about the action it introduces.

Example

Ek gaan winkel toe om appels en wortels te koop.

In this sentence apples and wortels go between "om" and "te" because they tell us more about the verb (koop.) Just like we see in English except the extra information is enveloped by "om te" instead of going after the infinitive.

Examples of the infinitive in action

Example 1

To eat is nice.

Om te eet is lekker.

The Afrikaans and English sentences here are functionally the same because we don't really have more information about the verb. Look what happens if we add more information.

Example 2

To eat with people is nice.

Om met mense te eet is lekker.

In the English sentence the extra information goes after the infinitive (to eat.) In the Afrikaans sentence, the extra information goes inside the infinitive between the words "om" and "te."

Example 3

It is easy to drive home with this road.

Dit is maklik om met die pad huis toe te ry.

Here you can see in English to "to" is right in front of the verb (drive) in the English sentence as always, with the bit telling us more about the verb (home with this road) at the back of the sentence.

In the Afrikaans sentence we can see "om te" is in front of the verb (ry) as well, but the bit that tells us more about the verb (met die pad huis toe) is enveloped by the "om" and "te."

Click the following link to go to the next lesson:      

The infinative in Afrikaans: om te part 2

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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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