Kom ons kraak dit.
A begripstoets (comprehension test) checks whether you understood a text and can show it in your answers. The good news: most of the marks come from finding the right information and writing it down clearly, not from being a genius. Learn a few strategies and the question words below, and you’ll pick up marks you used to lose.
Step by step
Read the questions first
Before you read the passage, read through the questions quickly. Now you know what you’re looking for, so the important bits jump out at you while you read.
If you see Wanneer het die wedstryd begin?, you know to watch out for a time or a day.
Skim first, then read closely
Skim the whole passage once to get the main idea: who, what, where. Don’t stop at words you don’t know. Then read it closely, paragraph by paragraph, while you answer the questions.
Most questions follow the order of the passage. Question 1 is usually near the start; the last questions are near the end.
Underline key words
Underline the key words in each question, then find the same (or similar) words in the passage. The answer is usually close by.
| Question | Look for this in the passage |
|---|---|
| Waarom het Lerato die bus gemis? | the sentence where Lerato and the bus appear |
| Wat het die kinders in paragraaf 3 gedoen? | paragraph 3 only, and what the children did |
Use the marks as a clue
The marks in brackets tell you how much to write. Usually, one mark = one fact. A question worth (2) usually wants two facts, or one fact plus a reason.
| Question | What to give |
|---|---|
| Noem TWEE sporte wat Sipho speel. (2) | two sports, one mark each |
| Waarom was Sipho moeg? (1) | one reason, nothing more |
Answer in full sentences when asked
If the instruction says Antwoord in volsinne (answer in full sentences), reuse the words of the question in your answer. It makes your sentence complete and shows the marker exactly what you mean.
| Question | Full-sentence answer |
|---|---|
| Wat het Lerato by die mark gekoop? | Lerato het tamaties by die mark gekoop. |
| Waarom was Sipho laat? | Sipho was laat omdat die taxi nie gekom het nie. |
After omdat (because), the verb goes to the end: omdat hy moeg was. After want (because), the word order stays normal: want hy was moeg.
Own words vs “haal aan” (quote)
These two instructions want opposite things:
- In jou eie woorde (in your own words): don’t copy. Say it differently, in simple Afrikaans.
- Haal aan (quote): copy the exact words from the passage and put them in quotation marks. Don’t change a single letter.
| Passage | Own words |
|---|---|
| Die span was in die wolke oor hul oorwinning. | Die span was baie bly omdat hulle gewen het. |
If the question says haal ’n woord aan, give one word. If it says haal ’n frase aan, give a short group of words, not the whole sentence.
Waar of onwaar (true or false): always prove it
Write Waar (true) or Onwaar (false), and then give the reason or quote the question asks for. The quote must prove your answer, not just mention the same topic. Usually you only get the mark if your reason is correct.
| Statement | Answer |
|---|---|
| Sipho was vroeg by die skool. | Onwaar. “Sipho het eers ná die klok by die hek ingestap.” |
One-word and multiple-choice questions
For Gee een woord vir … (give one word for …), write one word only. For Kies die korrekte antwoord (choose the correct answer), write the letter and the answer, so there’s no doubt: C – meer as die helfte.
With multiple choice, cross out the options you know are wrong first. Often two options are obviously wrong and you only have to choose between the last two.
Figures of speech and tone (the simple version)
You don’t need to be a poet. Learn to spot a few common stylfigure (figures of speech):
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
| Hy hardloop soos ’n jagluiperd. | vergelyking (simile): compares with soos or as |
| Die klas is ’n dieretuin. | metafoor (metaphor): says something is something else |
| Die wind fluister deur die bome. | personifikasie (personification): a thing acts like a person |
Toon (tone) is the feeling in the words: bly (happy), kwaad (angry), hartseer (sad), humoristies (funny), ernstig (serious). Name the tone, then say which words show it.
Wenk!
Stuck on a word you don’t know? Read the sentence before and after it. The words around it usually give you enough of a clue to answer the question, even if you never find the exact meaning.
Question words and instructions
Know these and you’ll always know what the question wants.
| Question word | What it wants |
|---|---|
| Wie? | Who? A person or people. |
| Wat? | What? A thing, an action or a fact. |
| Waar? | Where? A place. |
| Wanneer? | When? A time, day or moment. |
| Waarom? / Hoekom? | Why? A reason. Start with omdat or want. |
| Hoe? | How? The way something happens, or how someone feels. |
| Noem | Name: short facts from the text, no explanation needed. |
| Gee | Give: a fact, a word or an example. |
| Verduidelik | Explain: say why or how, in a full sentence. |
| Beskryf | Describe: what someone or something is like. |
| Haal aan | Quote: the exact words from the text, in quotation marks. |
| Motiveer | Back it up: give your answer plus a reason from the text. |
| Gee ’n sinoniem | A word with the same meaning (bly → gelukkig). |
| Gee ’n antoniem | A word with the opposite meaning (bly → hartseer). |
| In jou eie woorde | Don't copy: say it differently, in your own Afrikaans. |
Common mistakes
Wrong: Sipho het vroeg opgestaan, maar die taxi het nie gekom nie, en toe moes hy stap, en dit het gereën, en …
Right: Sipho was laat omdat die taxi nie gekom het nie.
Question: Waarom was Sipho laat? Don’t copy a whole paragraph and hope the answer is in there. Pick out only what the question asks.
Wrong: Because the taxi didn’t come.
Right: Omdat die taxi nie gekom het nie.
Answer in Afrikaans. An English answer usually gets no marks, even if it’s correct.
Wrong: Hy het dit gevat.
Right: Die hond het die wors gevat.
Question: Wat het die hond gevat? Use the words of the question and name things clearly instead of using hy and dit.
Wrong: Omdat moeg.
Right: Sy het vroeg gaan slaap omdat sy moeg was.
A half sentence has no subject or verb. When the question asks for full sentences, give a complete one.
Wrong: “Ma het by die kombuis ingestap.”
Right: “Ma het die deur hard toegeklap.”
Question: Haal ’n frase aan wat wys dat Ma kwaad was. Quote the part that proves your point, not just any sentence about Ma.
Practice
Read the passage, then answer the questions in Afrikaans. Answer in full sentences unless the question says otherwise.
1 Toe mnr. Dlamini, die skoolhoof van Hoërskool Rivierpark, op ’n Maandagoggend aangekondig het dat die Graad 10’s ’n hele week sonder hul selfone moet klaarkom, het die saal doodstil geword. “Net vyf dae,” het hy met ’n glimlag gesê. “Julle sal oorleef.”
2 Die eerste dag was die moeilikste. Thandi het elke paar minute na haar leë sak gegryp, en Pieter het gekla dat hy nie weet hoe laat dit is nie. Pouses was so stil soos ’n kerk, want niemand het video’s gekyk of boodskappe gestuur nie.
3 Teen Woensdag het iets verander. Die leerders het weer met mekaar begin praat. ’n Groep het ’n ou skaakbord in die biblioteek gevind, en ander het sokker op die grasperk gespeel. Thandi het selfs ’n hele boek in twee dae klaargelees.
4 Op Vrydag het die leerders ’n vraelys ingevul. Meer as die helfte het gesê dat hulle beter geslaap en minder stres gehad het. Tog was nie almal oortuig nie. “Dit was lekker,” het Pieter erken, “maar ek het my musiek vreeslik gemis.”
5 Mnr. Dlamini wil die projek volgende jaar herhaal, maar dié keer vir die hele skool.
- Wie is die skoolhoof van Hoërskool Rivierpark?
Show answerHide answer
Mnr. Dlamini is die skoolhoof van Hoërskool Rivierpark.
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Hoe lank moes die Graad 10’s sonder hul selfone klaarkom?
Show answerHide answer
Die Graad 10’s moes ’n week (vyf dae) sonder hul selfone klaarkom.
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Waarom het Pieter op die eerste dag gekla?
Show answerHide answer
Pieter het gekla omdat hy nie geweet het hoe laat dit is nie.
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Waar of onwaar? Die leerders het op die eerste dag baie met mekaar gepraat. Haal ’n frase aan om jou antwoord te bewys.
Show answerHide answer
Onwaar. “Pouses was so stil soos ’n kerk.”
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Haal ’n sin uit paragraaf 3 aan wat wys dat Thandi meer tyd gehad het om te lees.
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“Thandi het selfs ’n hele boek in twee dae klaargelees.”
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Gee die antoniem van “moeilikste” in paragraaf 2. Gee een woord.
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maklikste
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Noem TWEE dinge wat die leerders teen Woensdag gedoen het in plaas daarvan om hul selfone te gebruik.
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Enige twee: Hulle het met mekaar gepraat. Hulle het skaak gespeel. Hulle het sokker gespeel. Thandi het ’n boek gelees.
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Kies die korrekte antwoord: Hoeveel leerders het gesê dat hulle beter geslaap het? A niemand, B minder as die helfte, C meer as die helfte, D almal
Show answerHide answer
C – meer as die helfte
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- “Pouses was so stil soos ’n kerk.” Watter stylfiguur is dit, en wat beteken dit?
Show answerHide answer
Dit is ’n vergelyking (dit gebruik “soos”). Dit beteken dat die pouses baie stil was.
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
- Verduidelik in jou eie woorde waarom Pieter nie heeltemal oortuig was dat die week goed was nie.
Show answerHide answer
Pieter het die week geniet, maar hy het sy musiek baie gemis.
Probeer weer! Check the rules above, cover the answer and have another go.
Klaar! Lekker gewerk.
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