Ten spyte van die hangslot vind sy die leidraad.

Because Afrikaans follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

Here, Ten spyte van die hangslot is placed first for emphasis. Once that opening phrase takes the first slot, the finite verb must come next:

• Ten spyte van die hangslot, vind sy die leidraad.

If you started with the subject, you would get:

• Sy vind die leidraad ten spyte van die hangslot.

Both are correct, but the first one highlights despite the padlock more strongly.

Ten spyte van means despite or in spite of.

It is a fixed expression, so learners usually remember it as one chunk rather than translating each word separately.

Examples:

• Ten spyte van die reën = despite the rain
• Ten spyte van die probleem = despite the problem

It is fairly standard and natural, though ondanks is a shorter alternative.

It is best treated as a fixed phrase.

So you normally learn and use it as:

• ten spyte van + noun phrase

For example:

• ten spyte van die hangslot
• ten spyte van haar vrees

You generally should not rearrange it word-for-word the way you might try to in English.

Here sy means she.

That can confuse learners because sy can also mean her in other contexts. In this sentence, though, it comes after the verb because of inversion, so it is the subject pronoun:

• vind sy = she finds

So even though the order looks unusual from an English point of view, sy here is definitely she, not her.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

So unlike some languages, you do not have different forms for gender or most number distinctions in the article.

Here:

• die hangslot = the padlock
• die leidraad = the clue

Hangslot is a noun meaning padlock.

It is also a good example of how Afrikaans often forms compound nouns by writing the parts together as one word:

• hang
  • slot → hangslot

This is very common in both Afrikaans and Dutch-derived vocabulary.

Leidraad usually means clue, but its more literal sense is something like guiding thread.

That is useful to know because it helps you remember the word:

• lei relates to lead / guide
• draad means thread / wire

So a leidraad is something that guides you toward the answer, which is why it means clue.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually change much less than in English.

For the present tense, the verb often stays the same regardless of the subject:

• ek vind
• jy vind
• sy vind
• ons vind

So vind does not need a special ending for she. That is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is also grammatical:

• Sy vind die leidraad ten spyte van die hangslot.

The difference is mostly emphasis:

• Ten spyte van die hangslot, vind sy die leidraad. → emphasizes the obstacle first
• Sy vind die leidraad ten spyte van die hangslot. → sounds more neutral

So the original sentence is not about different meaning, but about word order and focus.

Yes. A very common alternative is ondanks.

So you could also say:

• Ondanks die hangslot vind sy die leidraad.

This means the same thing: despite the padlock.

Many learners find ondanks easier because it is shorter and works a lot like a single-word preposition.

By itself, ten spyte van is normally followed by a noun phrase:

• ten spyte van die hangslot
• ten spyte van haar waarskuwing

If you want to follow it with a full clause, Afrikaans usually uses a related structure such as:

• ten spyte daarvan dat ...

For example:

• Ten spyte daarvan dat die deur gesluit was, gaan sy in.
• Despite the fact that the door was locked, she goes in.

So in your sentence, ten spyte van is working in its usual pattern: fixed phrase + noun phrase.

It sounds mostly neutral to slightly formal, especially because of ten spyte van.

It is not unnatural, but in everyday speech some people might prefer:

• ondanks
• or a more conversational rewording

Still, the sentence is perfectly good Afrikaans and useful for learning standard word order.