Al kom die verhuiswa laat, pak ons kartondose uit.

Here al means although / even though / even if. It introduces a contrast: the main action still happens despite the delay.

It is not the same use as:

• al = already in Hy het al geëet
• al die = all the in al die mense

So Afrikaans al has several meanings, and you work out which one it is from the sentence pattern.

After concessive al, Afrikaans normally puts the finite verb first:

• Al kom die verhuiswa laat
• Al is hy moeg
• Al reën dit

So kom comes before the subject die verhuiswa. That is the normal pattern in this kind of al-clause.

Because the sentence begins with the clause Al kom die verhuiswa laat. That whole opening clause takes the first position in the sentence.

In Afrikaans main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in second position. So after that opening clause, the next element must be the verb:

• Al kom die verhuiswa laat, pak ons kartondose uit.

If you remove the opening clause, you get the ordinary order:

• Ons pak kartondose uit.

This is the separable verb uitpak, meaning to unpack.

In a main clause, separable verbs split:

• pak goes in the normal verb position
• uit moves to the end

So:

• Ons pak kartondose uit = We unpack cardboard boxes

You will often see this with other verbs too:

• aantrek → Hy trek sy jas aan
• opstaan → Ek staan vroeg op

Here laat works adverbially: it tells you how the truck comes/arrives.

Afrikaans often uses the same form for adjective and adverb, unlike English, which often adds -ly. So laat can mean late in both kinds of use.

In this sentence, laat modifies kom:

• kom laat = come/arrive late

Yes. In Afrikaans, kom often covers both come and arrive, depending on context.

So:

• Die bus kom laat can mean The bus comes late or more naturally in English The bus arrives late
• Die verhuiswa kom laat works the same way

English usually prefers arrive in this context, but Afrikaans naturally uses kom.

Verhuiswa is a compound noun:

• verhuis = move / relocate
• wa = wagon, van, truck-like vehicle

Afrikaans usually writes compounds as one word, so verhuiswa is normal. This is very common in Afrikaans:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• kombuistafel = kitchen table
• skooltas = school bag

So if you see a long noun, it is often just smaller words joined together.

The singular is kartondoos.

Again, this is a compound:

• karton = cardboard
• doos = box

Plural:

• kartondoos → kartondose

So kartondose means cardboard boxes. Writing it as one word is normal Afrikaans compound spelling.

In this sentence, ons means we.

That is because it comes right after the finite verb pak, which is where the subject appears in this word order:

• pak ons kartondose uit

If you wanted our, ons would have to come directly before the noun it belongs to:

• ons kartondose = our cardboard boxes

So:

• Ons pak kartondose uit = We unpack cardboard boxes
• Ons pak ons kartondose uit = We unpack our cardboard boxes

Because Afrikaans can use a bare plural noun when the meaning is general or indefinite.

So:

• kartondose = cardboard boxes
• die kartondose = the cardboard boxes

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things. Without die, the phrase is less specific.

Yes, very often you can.

With alhoewel, the word order changes:

• Al kom die verhuiswa laat, pak ons kartondose uit.
• Alhoewel die verhuiswa laat kom, pak ons kartondose uit.

So:

• al gives verb-before-subject in that first clause
• alhoewel gives the more typical subordinate-clause order, with the verb later in the clause

The meaning is very similar, though alhoewel can sound a bit more explicit or formal.

The comma separates the opening concessive clause from the main clause:

• Al kom die verhuiswa laat, / pak ons kartondose uit.

This is standard punctuation in Afrikaans when a clause like this comes first. It helps show where the first idea ends and the main statement begins.