Difference between revisions of "Language/Afrikaans/Grammar/Formal-vs-Informal-Imperatives"
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While the rule is that you should add ''moenie'' to an instruction (also called an imperative) in order to make it negative, a formal, more polite imperative will get an ''asseblief'' (“please”). As soon as you do this, there is another set of rules that apply. Have a look at the following: | While the rule is that you should add ''moenie'' to an instruction (also called an imperative) in order to make it negative, a formal, more polite imperative will get an ''asseblief'' (“please”). As soon as you do this, there is another set of rules that apply. Have a look at the following: | ||
Formal imperative: '''''Moet''' asseblief '''nie''' opstaan '''nie'''.'' / “Please don’t stand up.” | *Informal imperative: ''Moenie opstaan nie! ''/ “Don’t stand up!” | ||
*Formal imperative: '''''Moet''' asseblief '''nie''' opstaan '''nie'''.'' / “Please don’t stand up.” | |||
As you can see, when you add ''asseblief ''to the negative sentence, you need to: | As you can see, when you add ''asseblief ''to the negative sentence, you need to: | ||
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{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
!'''Informal Imperative''' | |||
!'''Formal Imperative''' | |||
|- | |- | ||
|'''Moenie later terug kom nie! ''' | |'''Moenie later terug kom nie! ''' | ||
| Line 33: | Line 36: | ||
|'''“Please don’t go away!”''' | |'''“Please don’t go away!”''' | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Source== | |||
https://www.afrikaanspod101.com/blog/category/learn-afrikaans/afrikaans-grammar/#2 | |||
Revision as of 13:51, 18 September 2021
While the rule is that you should add moenie to an instruction (also called an imperative) in order to make it negative, a formal, more polite imperative will get an asseblief (“please”). As soon as you do this, there is another set of rules that apply. Have a look at the following:
- Informal imperative: Moenie opstaan nie! / “Don’t stand up!”
- Formal imperative: Moet asseblief nie opstaan nie. / “Please don’t stand up.”
As you can see, when you add asseblief to the negative sentence, you need to:
- break the compound moenie into its component words moet and nie;
- put the asseblief (“please”) between the moet and the nie; and
- remember to add the final nie at the end!
Here are some more examples using the same informal instructions as in exercise E.1, but now converted to formal imperatives.
| Informal Imperative | Formal Imperative |
|---|---|
| Moenie later terug kom nie! | Moet asseblief nie later terugkom nie. |
| “Don’t come back later!” | “Please don’t come back later.” |
| Moenie daar kyk nie! | Moet asseblief nie daar kyk nie. |
| “Don’t look there!” | “Please don’t look there.” |
| Moenie weggaan nie! | Moet asseblief nie weggaan nie! |
| “Don’t go away!” | “Please don’t go away!” |
Source
https://www.afrikaanspod101.com/blog/category/learn-afrikaans/afrikaans-grammar/#2