Back to basics

My
Sv1TOMPv2I
guide
Basic Afrikaans sentence structure
 What is Sv1TOMPv2I?
STOMPI is the basic structure of an Afrikaans
sentence. How often does the following
happen? You write a sentence and your teacher
complains that the sentence structure is wrong?
Yet you don’t know why??
 Let’s look at the following two sentences:

Die man het sy kar gister in die motorhuis parkeer.

Die man het gister sy kar in die motorhuis parkeer.

Which of the following two sentences makes

sense? Both

Which of the following two sentences are

regarded correct syntactically?
Only the second one
 But why?
The time is always positioned at the beginning of
the sentence right after the first verb, while the
place is always placed almost at the end of the
sentence right in front of the second

Sv1TOMPv2I is an English shortcut that helps you to

understand and recognise the Afrikaans sentence
structure. But let us first investigate what each of the
STOMPI letters stand for.
 What does Sv1TOMPv2I stand for?

Sv1TOMPv2I is used when you work with a

sentence in Afrikaans. It helps you to
understand the structure better because
you break it down into understandable
pieces.
Let’s look at the following table:
 Subject S
Verb 1 v1
a m i l i ar !
rt i n g t o lo o k f
P I i s re a l l y s ta g to
STO M Time
a c c e p t t h a t fo r so m e T
t h i n
Th o u g ht I d o r il y m a k e i t
n o t n e c e s s a
l o o k fa m i l i a Object
r, d o es
e . L e t ’s lOo o k a t
d ersta n d a b l
easy or un o s el y.
STManner M
OMPI m o r e c l

Place P
Verb 2 v2
Infinitive I
 How do you identify the different
parts of Sv1TOMPv2I in a sentence?
Afrikaans and Mathematics has a lot in
common. Formulas are also used in Afrikaans
to better understand and remember the rules.
It’s no longer a case that you either understand
the work or not.

The STOMPI-method can help you to get to the

right answer or, if you choose, test if you have
the right answer.
 See if you can answer the
following questions:

• How do I know what the subject is?

• How do I identify the verbs?
• How do I distinguish between the different
adverbs?
• What is the difference between the subject
and the object?
 If you knew STOMPI
you could have
answered the
questions quite easily!

Let’s look at the

different parts of
STOMPI on their own!
S ubject
❑ Usually stands in the beginning of the sentence.
❑ The subject is that what the sentence is all
about.
❑ Die subject answers the WHO/WHAT question.

DIE SEUN
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
v
HET
erb 1
❑ It’s the first verb in the sentence.
❑ The first verb is divided into two groups:
❑ Present tense: Main verb of the sentence. There is
no second verb.
❑ Past and future tense: the first verb is the helping
verb in the two different tenses.
❑ Past: HET, WOU, SOU, KON, MOES.
❑ Future: SAL, WIL, KAN, MOET

Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard

oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
T
ime

❑ Any indication of time.

❑ The time answers the WHEN question.

GISTER
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
O
sy
❑
❑
❑
❑
bject
The object is that which it being done.
What VERB’s the SUBJECT?
The answer to this question is the object.
The subject and the object looks the same, this
is only because they swop positions in the
Active and Passive voice.

rugbybal
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
M anner
❑ The MANNER answers the HOW question.
How is it being done.
❑ The MANNER is an adjective (byvoeglike
naamwoord) or adverb (bywoord).
❑ The describing word can be put into degrees
of comparison.
HARD
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
P lace
❑ The Place answers the WHERE question.
❑ The PLACE always has a preposition
(voorsetsel), it is the preposition that gives
away the place.
❑ Voorsetsels: IN, AAN, AGTER, BY, BO, LANGS,
MET, NA, ONDER, OM, OOR, OP, TEEN, UIT,
VOOR, ens.
OOR DIE PALE
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
v erb 2
❑ The second verb of the sentence.
❑ The present tense sentence does not have a
second verb.
❑ The second verb is the main verb in the past and
future tense sentences.
❑ The past tense verb usually has a “ge” in front of
the word.
GESKOP
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
I nfinitive
❑ The infinitive answers the WHY question.
❑ The infinitive is actually the easiest to identify.
❑ Everything from OM…TE… to the end of the
sentence is the infinitive. The infinitive gives you
the reason for what is said in the beginning of
the sentence.
OM TE OEFEN
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal hard
oor die pale geskop om te oefen.
 Let us look at the following
example:
Die seun het gister sy rugbybal
hard oor die pale geskop om te
oefen.
How
And, many
O gosh, what
what parts of speech
is parts
does parts of
of
can youagain?
speech identify?
have to do with
STOMPI?
 EVERYTHING!
STOMPI can help
you to remember
your Parts of
speech better!!!
Let us see how it is done:
When you divide a sentence into Sv1TOMPv2I,
we look at groups of words that make up the
SUBJECT, PLACE OR OBJECT.

BUT

Did you know that only certain Parts of speech

can fit into the parts of Sv1TOMPv2I?
 Sv1TOMPv2I
Adverb
Which Parts of Preposition Adj
ect
ive
of Time
speech fits into Infinitive
Om te
Noun
the parts of Helping verb

P ro n o u n

Main Sv1TOMPv2I??
Verb
Article
S Selfstandige naamwoord (noun), voornaamwoord (pronoun),
lidwoord (articles)

v1 Hede: hoofwerkwoord Verlede/Toekoms:

(Main verbs) hulpwerkwoord (helping verbs)

T Bywoord van tyd (Adverb of time)

O Selfstandige naamwoord (noun), voornaamwoord (pronoun),

lidwoord (articles)

M Byvoeglike naamwoord (adjectives) of Bywoord (adverb)

P Voorsetsel (prepositions) + lidwoord (articles),

voornaamwoord (pronoun), selfstandige naamwoord(noun)

v2 Hede: GEEN/None Verlede/Toekoms: hoofwerkwoord

(main verb)

I Infinitief (om te), lidwoord, selfstandige naamwoord,

voornaamwoord, byvoeglike naamwoord, werkwoord.
How do you analyse a
sentence by using the
Sv1TOMPv2I-method?
• Step 1: Underline the verbs in the sentence.

v1het gister sy rugbybal

Die seun
hard oor die pale
v2 geskop om te
oefen.
• Stap 2: That which stands in front of the
VERB 1 is the SUBJECT. That which stands
after the second verb is the INFINITIVE.
REMEMBER: the infinitive has to
have OM and TE.
Die
S seunv1het gister sy rugbybal
hard oor die pale
v2 geskop om te
I
oefen.
REMEMBER: the Subject has an article,
noun or pronoun.
 Die seun het gister sy rugbybal
S v1
hard oor die pale geskop om te
v2
oefen.
Which questions do you ask yourself to
identify the parts of STOMPI?
Wanneer het die seun? Gister
✔Wat het die seun
Wanneer VERBgeskop? Sy rugbybal
die SUBJECT? TIME
✔Hoe
Wat
hetVERB die SUBJECT
die seun geskop? VERB?
Hard OBJECT
✔Waar
Hoehet
VERB
diedie
seunSUBJECT VERB?
geskop? Oor dieMANNER
pale
✔ Waar VERB die SUBJECT VERB? PLACE
• Step 3: Now begin at the beginning of the
sentence, which part of STOMPI is present in
the sentence. REMEMBER: A sentence does
not have to have all the STOMPI parts.

Die seun
v1het Tgister sy rugbybalM
S O
hard oor die pale
v2 geskop om te
P I
oefen.
 Here is the three steps again:

• Step 1: Underline the verbs in the sentence.

• Stap 2: Stap 2: That which stands infront of
the VERB 1 is the SUBJECT. That which stands
after the second verb is the INFINITIVE.
• Step 3: Now begin at the beginning of the
sentence, which part of STOMPI is present in
the sentence. REMEMBER: A sentence does
not have to have all the STOMPI parts.
Now it is your turn to
divide and conquer!!
 Remember and use the three
steps!
1. Die leerders het die werk vinnig in die klas`
geleer om goed te presteer.
2. Die meisie sal later haar gesig mooi in die
badkamer grimeer om pragtig te lyk.
3. Ons drink saans koffie in die kombuis.
4. Eugene het sy werk goed gedoen om betaal
te word.
5. Die vis sal vinnig in die vuil dam swem.
 Memorandum

S v1 O M
1. Die leerders het die werk vinnig vir die

P v2 I
eksamen geleer om goed te presteer.
 Memorandum

S v1 T O M
2. Die meisie sal later haar gesig mooi
P v2 I
in die badkamer grimeer om pragtig te

lyk.
 Memorandum

S v1 T O P
3. Ons drink saans koffie in die kombuis.
 Memorandum

S v1 O M v2
4. Eugene het sy werk goed gedoen
I
om betaal te word.
 Memorandum

S v1 M P v2
5. Die vis sal vinnig in die vuil dam swem.
 With the next lesson we will
look at a way to use STOMPI to
start with different parts of a
sentence.
***
Woordorde
You can start any sentence with most parts of STOMPI.
Just remember WHATEVER YOU START WITH THE VERB
ONE FOLLOWS!!!!
If the sentence start with:
Subject = S v1TOMPv2I
Verb 1 = v1 STOMPv2I?
Time = T v1 SOMPv2I
Object = O v1 (T+M) deur SPv2I (active and passive)
Manner = M v1 STOPv2I
Place = P v1 STOMv2I
Verb 2=YOU CAN NEVER START A SENTENCE WITH V2.
Infinitive = I v1 STOMPv2