wou

In a sentence

• Ek wou die boek lees, maar ek het nie tyd gehad nie.

  I wanted to read the book, but I did not have time.

  In this sentence, 'wou' is used as the past tense and subjunctive form of 'wil', meaning 'wanted' (to want).

• Sy wou graag saam met ons kom, maar sy moes werk.

  She wanted to come with us, but she had to work.

  Here, 'wou' similarly acts as the past tense of 'wil', indicating the desire or intention to do something.

• As ek meer tyd gehad het, wou ek jou help met jou projek.

  If I had more time, I would have wanted to help you with your project.

  In this usage, 'wou' expresses a hypothetical or conditional desire, indicating something that would have been a wish to do under specific circumstances.