The Focus of This Lesson is the Past Tense

Regtig! Ons het gister biefstuk gehad.
"Really! We had steak yesterday."

In this lesson, we will learn how to:

1. use the past tense
2. use the prefix "ge" and use "gehad"

1. How to use the past tense

Past tense is easy in Afrikaans—You need to identify the verb and add the prefix ge-, and you need to identify the person doing the action and add het after them in the sentence.

Person + het .... + ge- verb ...

Jan het gister vleis gehad. (Gehad is the conjugation of het)
"Jan had meat yesterday."

Sample sentences

1. Ons het verlede jaar elke Sondag gestap.
   "Last year we went for walks every Sunday."
2. Ek het vir drie jaar in my jeug geswem.
   "I swam for three years in my youth."
3. Jan en Susan het laas jaar gedraf.
   "Jan and Susan jogged last year."

2. Use the prefix ge and use gehad

Ge indicates past tense. The moment you use it as a prefix to the verb, the verb is in past tense.

Het must also be used to indicate past tense.

Examples from the Dialogue

1. Johan, het jy al gedink wat jy wil hê vir middagete?
   "John, have you thought about what you would like for lunch?"
2. Regtig! Ons het gister biefstuk gehad.
   "Really! We had steak for lunch yesterday."

Sample Sentences

1. Ek het verlede week elke dag gedraf.
   "I went for a jog every day last week."
2. Ek was laas jaar in Spanje.
   "I was in Spain last year."
3. Het jy gister gaan swem?
   "Did you go and swim yesterday?"

nog nie
"yet"

Nog nie indicates that you are "not yet" finished with something or that you did not do something. You are going to use this phrase when you will do a task, but you have not had a chance to do it.

It can be a bit informal, but if you add the reason afterward it will be more polite.

For example

1. Ek het nog nie die man gebel nie.
   "I haven't phoned the guy yet."

goed so
"OK, then"

Goed so means that you like what you hear or that you agree. You can use this when someone makes a suggestion or when someone asks if you agree with details they discussed. It can be used in formal or informal settings.

For example

1. Goed so, ons moet nog.
   "Good. We still have to."

Steak and Eggs as a Meal

You will find many restaurants offer steak and eggs as a meal, maybe even with chips. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Many South African people like going out for breakfast on a Sunday. You can get a farmer's breakfast with a variety of food on these days, and there are even a lot of vegetarian dishes.

Useful expression

1. Ek soek 'n lekker boere ontbyt.
   "I want a delicious farmer's breakfast."