Pronouns / Persoonlike Voornaamwoorde
Impersonal Pronouns / Onpersoonlike Voornaamwoorde
There are only two impersonal pronouns in Afrikaans: dit (“it”) and daar (“there”).
Possessive Pronoun / Besitlike Voornaamwoord
Relative Pronouns / Betreklike Voornaamwoorde
Afrikaans relative pronouns are relative to, or have to do with, a noun that occurs first in the
sentence. They’re used to connect a phrase or a clause to a noun. There are four pronouns in
this category: wat, wie se, waaroor, and waarin.
Interrogative Pronouns / Vraende Voornaamwoorde
Indefinite Pronouns / Onbepaalde Voornaamwoorde
These pronouns don’t refer to anything or anyone specific. It is general
Demonstrative Pronouns / Aanwysende Voornaamwoorde
These pronouns don’t take the place of nouns, but are always used together with the noun.
Again, only two words are used as aanwysende voornaamwoorde: hierdie (“this”) and daardie
(“that”)
Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns / Noodsaaklike & Toevallige Wederkerende
Voornaamwoorde
These pronouns are used when both the subject and object of a verb refer to the same person or
thing. There are two categories of reflexive pronouns in Afrikaans: noodsaaklik wederkerend
(reflexive) and toevallig wederkerend (intensive). It’s clear that the former (reflexive) refers to the
same subject in a sentence, so that’s easy. However, it’s possible for the latter (intensive) to
refer to any person or object, so the –self suffix is added for clarification
Reciprocal Pronouns / Wederkerige Voornaamwoorde
These pronouns are used to indicate that two or more people are carrying out, or have carried
out, a specific action. Only two Afrikaans pronoun forms exist in this category: mekaar (“one
another”) and die een die ander (“each other”)