Ons vind sitplekke sodat ons die verhoog kan sien.

Sodat means so that or in order that.

In Ons vind sitplekke sodat ons die verhoog kan sien, it introduces a purpose clause: the reason we are finding seats is so that we can see the stage.

A natural English translation is:

• We find seats so that we can see the stage.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Ons vind sitplekke
• purpose clause: sodat ons die verhoog kan sien

Because both parts of the sentence have their own subject.

• Ons vind sitplekke = We find seats
• sodat ons die verhoog kan sien = so that we can see the stage

English also often repeats the subject:

• We find seats so that we can see the stage.

So the second ons is not redundant; it belongs to the second clause.

This is because sodat introduces a subordinate clause, and Afrikaans usually sends the verb material toward the end in subordinate clauses.

Compare:

• Main clause: Ons kan die verhoog sien.
• After sodat: ... sodat ons die verhoog kan sien.

So in the subordinate clause, the order is:

• sodat
• subject: ons
• object: die verhoog
• verb phrase at the end: kan sien

This is very common in Afrikaans after conjunctions like dat, omdat, terwyl, voordat, and sodat.

Because kan is a modal verb, and after modal verbs Afrikaans uses the bare infinitive, not te.

So you get:

• kan sien = can see
• moet gaan = must go
• wil eet = want to eat

Not:

• kan te sien ❌

This is similar to English, where we say can see, not can to see.

Sitplekke means seats or places to sit.

It comes from:

• sit = sit
• plek = place

So sitplek literally means sitting place or seat.

Plural:

• sitplek = seat
• sitplekke = seats

So Ons vind sitplekke literally means We find seating places, but in natural English that is just We find seats.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• verhoog = stage
• die verhoog = the stage

In this sentence, it is a specific stage, so Afrikaans uses die, just as English uses the.

Also, die is used for both singular and plural nouns in Afrikaans, so it does not change the way English articles do.

Here, verhoog is a noun meaning stage.

There is also a verb verhoog meaning raise or increase, but in this sentence it is clearly the noun because it follows die:

• die verhoog = the stage

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes, but in a slightly broader sense than English sometimes uses.

Vind often means:

• find
• locate
• come across

So Ons vind sitplekke can mean:

• We find seats
• We manage to get seats
• We locate some seats

In context, it does not necessarily mean a long search; it just means that seats are found/secured.

Yes, often you could.

• vind sitplekke focuses on finding/locating seats
• kry sitplekke often focuses more on getting/obtaining seats

In many real situations, both are possible depending on nuance.

For example:

• Ons vind sitplekke = We find some seats
• Ons kry sitplekke = We get some seats

The original sentence emphasizes the idea of spotting or locating seats.

It is one very common way, especially when you want to express purpose clearly.

For example:

• Ons vind sitplekke sodat ons die verhoog kan sien.

Afrikaans also often uses om ... te for purpose:

• Ons vind sitplekke om die verhoog te sien.

But that version can sound a bit less natural in this exact context, because sodat neatly expresses the idea we find seats in order that we may be able to see the stage.

So sodat is a very good choice here.

A rough guide would be something like:

• sit-plek-uh

A few helpful points:

• sit sounds close to English sit
• plek has a short e, somewhat like the vowel in English bed
• the final -ke in -plekke is a weak extra syllable

So the whole word has three beats:

• SIT-plek-ke

Not perfect English spelling, of course, but that approximation can help.

Usually, yes: after sodat, Afrikaans uses subordinate-clause word order.

So you often get:

• sodat + subject + rest + verbs at the end

Examples:

• Ek praat harder sodat almal my kan hoor.
• Sy staan op sodat sy die deur kan oopmaak.
• Ons kom vroeg sodat ons goeie plekke kan kry.

So the pattern in your sentence is very typical:

• sodat ons die verhoog kan sien

A helpful breakdown is:

• Ons = we
• vind = find
• sitplekke = seats
• sodat = so that
• ons = we
• die verhoog = the stage
• kan sien = can see

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + object + purpose clause

More specifically:

• Ons → subject
• vind → main verb
• sitplekke → object
• sodat ons die verhoog kan sien → subordinate clause showing purpose

That makes it a very useful model sentence for learning Afrikaans word order.