Making Tenses Easy in Afrikaans: Part 10 – "Gaan" in the Future Tense

 

In this lesson, you will learn how to use the word “gaan” in Afrikaans. How to use “gaan” in the future and present tenses.

How to use “gaan” in the future tense

Even though the verb “sal” is the most commonly used future tense verb, you can also alternatively use the verb “gaan.”

Note: even though you can use “gaan” as the future tense verb, “sal” is the most commonly used future tense verb.

Present tense	Future tense
Sy slaap.	Sy gaan slaap.
Ek stap.	Ek gaan stap.
Hy lag.	Hy gaan lag.
Sy slaap lekker.	Sy gaan lekker slaap.
Ek stap saam met my hond.	Ek gaan saam met my hond stap.
Hy lag vir die snaakse dans.	Hy gaan vir die snaakse dans lag.

 

The more common use of the verb “gaan”

“Gaan” can indicate that the sentence is in the future tense, but the more commonly used meaning for “gaan” in Afrikaans is “go.”

 

Example 1

Past tense	Present tense	Future tense
I went home	I am going home.	I will be going home.
Ek het huis toe gegaan.	Ek gaan huis toe.	Ek sal huis toe gaan.

 

In this example, the word “gaan” is used in every tense because it means the action “go” or “going” instead of the future tense verb.

 

“Gaan” (going to)

What can make this tricky is that “gaan” can be used as an action in any tense or it can be used to show that the sentence is in the future tense, just like the verb “sal.”

“Gaan” can be a little bit similar to “going to” in English, where it uses the verb “go” to indicate future tense, but it does not change to indicate that it is future tense like “going to” does in English.

 

Example 2

I am going to eat.

I will eat.

Ek gaan eet.

Ek sal eet.

 

In this example, both Afrikaans sentences mean the same.

 

Example 3

Ek sal huis toe gaan.

I am going to go to my house.

 

In this sentence, the verb “sal” tells us that the sentence is in the future tense and “gaan” tells us that we are “going” somewhere.

You can even sometimes use both uses of the word “gaan” in the same sentence.

 

Example 4

I am going to go to school.

Ek gaan skool toe gaan.

 

It can be very tricky to identify whether “gaan” is used as the future tense word or as the verb “go.” The only real way to tell is from context. This is something that will only get easier with practice.

For beginners, I would recommend just using the word “sal” to indicate that the sentence is in the future tense to make things easier.

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