Sy steek die verjaarsdagkers aan.

Because the full verb is aansteek, which is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a main clause, the verb splits:

• Sy steek die verjaarsdagkers aan.

But in forms like the infinitive or past participle, it stays together:

• om die verjaarsdagkers aan te steek = to light the birthday candle
• Sy het die verjaarsdagkers aangesteek. = She lit the birthday candle.

This is very similar to separable verbs in Dutch and somewhat like switch on in English, where the meaning belongs to both parts together.

Here, sy means she.

Afrikaans uses:

• sy = she / her
• haar can also mean her, depending on the sentence

In Sy steek die verjaarsdagkers aan, sy is the subject, so it means she.

No. By itself, steek can have several meanings, such as stick, poke, stab, or thrust, depending on context.

But aansteek specifically means:

• to light a candle, fire, cigarette, etc.
• sometimes to switch on something
• in some contexts, even to infect/contaminate

So in this sentence, steek ... aan means lights.

Die means the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the word for the based on gender or case.

Examples:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kinders = the children

So die verjaarsdagkers simply means the birthday candle.

Verjaarsdagkers is singular.

It is a compound noun:

• verjaarsdag = birthday
• kers = candle

So:

• verjaarsdagkers = birthday candle
• verjaarsdagkerse = birthday candles

If you wanted the plural, you would say:

• Sy steek die verjaarsdagkerse aan. = She lights the birthday candles.

Because Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in the present tense.

In English:

• I light
• you light
• he/she lights

In Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same:

• Ek steek
• Jy steek
• Sy steek

So Afrikaans does not usually add an -s for he/she/it the way English does.

In a normal main clause, Afrikaans typically puts:

1. the subject first
2. the finite verb second
3. other sentence elements next
4. the separated particle at the end

So the pattern is:

• Sy = subject
• steek = finite verb
• die verjaarsdagkers = object
• aan = particle

That is why aan comes at the end.

If the verb is not split, such as in the infinitive, you get:

• om die verjaarsdagkers aan te steek

A common past-tense form is:

• Sy het die verjaarsdagkers aangesteek. = She lit the birthday candle.

Notice two things:

• het is the auxiliary verb
• aansteek becomes aangesteek

This is the usual Afrikaans perfect construction, which often corresponds to English simple past or present perfect depending on context.

Afrikaans usually uses a double negative:

• Sy steek nie die verjaarsdagkers aan nie. = She does not light the birthday candle.

The pattern is often:

• nie after the verb or verbal part
• another nie at the end of the clause

This double nie is a very characteristic feature of Afrikaans.

It is a compound noun, which is very common in Afrikaans.

Parts:

• verjaarsdag = birthday
• kers = candle

Together:

• verjaarsdagkers = birthday candle

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, often joins nouns into one word rather than writing them separately.

Other examples:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• sonlig = sunlight
• tafeldoek = tablecloth

A simple English-friendly guide:

• steek: roughly like stake, but with a clearer long vowel
• aan: roughly like ahn, with a long aa sound

A few pronunciation notes:

• ee in steek is a long vowel
• aa in aan is also a long vowel
• Afrikaans vowels are usually cleaner and less diphthong-like than English vowels

So the sentence is pronounced approximately like:

• Si stake dee fuh-YAHRS-dakh-kers ahn

That is only an approximation, but it can help as a starting point.

Not naturally in normal English. In this context, steek ... aan with kers clearly means lights or lights up the candle.

For things like:

• a candle
• a fire
• a cigarette

aansteek means to light.

For electrical devices, aanskakel is often used for switch on, although aansit and aanskakel depend on the context and region. So with verjaarsdagkers, the meaning is definitely about setting the candle alight.