Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom, lei hy die eregas af.

Sodra is a conjunction meaning as soon as or sometimes when in a time-related sense.

In this sentence, it introduces the first clause: Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom. That whole part sets the timing for the main action in the second clause.

A useful thing to remember is that sodra creates a subordinate clause, and that affects word order.

Because sodra introduces a subordinate clause, Afrikaans normally pushes the finite verb to the end of that clause.

So:

• main-clause style: Die aankomstyd kom nader
• subordinate-clause style: Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom

That is a very common Afrikaans pattern after words like omdat, wanneer, as, terwyl, and sodra.

Nader means nearer or closer. In the phrase nader kom, it works with kom to mean come nearer or approach.

So die aankomstyd nader kom literally looks like the arrival time comes nearer, which English would usually express as the arrival time approaches.

No. Nader kom is not the same kind of structure as aflei.

• nader kom = an ordinary verb phrase: kom
  • nader
• aflei = a separable verb

That is why they behave differently:

• Die aankomstyd kom nader
• Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom

but:

• Hy lei die eregas af
• dat hy die eregas aflei

So aflei splits in a main clause, while nader kom is just a normal phrase whose order changes because of clause type.

This is because Afrikaans main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern.

If the sentence started directly with the subject, you would get:

• Hy lei die eregas af

But here, the first position in the sentence is already taken by the whole time clause:

• Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom, ...

So the finite verb of the main clause comes next:

• Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom, lei hy die eregas af

That is why it is lei hy, not hy lei.

Because aflei is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a main clause, the verb splits:

• Hy lei die eregas af

In some other structures, it stays together:

• om die eregas af te lei
• dat hy die eregas aflei

This is very common in Afrikaans and Dutch-like verb systems. The first part goes to the end in a main clause, while the verb stem takes the normal verb position.

No. Aflei can have more than one meaning depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• distract
• lead away
• infer / deduce
• derive (in some academic contexts)

In this sentence, because the object is a person, it is understood in the sense of distract or lead away / divert rather than deduce.

Afrikaans forms compound nouns very freely, and they are usually written as one word.

Aankomstyd is made from:

• aankoms = arrival
• tyd = time

So aankomstyd means arrival time.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them into one compound.

For the same reason: it is a compound noun.

It is built from:

• ere = honour
• gas = guest

So eregas means guest of honour.

Again, English often uses separate words, but Afrikaans prefers one-word compounds.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans, and it does not change for gender the way articles do in some other languages.

So:

• die aankomstyd = the arrival time
• die eregas = the guest of honour

Afrikaans articles are much simpler than English learners sometimes expect:

• die = the
• ’n = a / an

The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause.

So the structure is:

• Sodra die aankomstyd nader kom, = subordinate time clause
• lei hy die eregas af. = main clause

This is standard punctuation and also makes the sentence easier to read.