Die sekretaris behoort die wysiging aan te teken.

Here behoort means ought to, should, or is supposed to.

So:

• Die sekretaris behoort die wysiging aan te teken
  = The secretary ought to record/note the amendment

A few useful points:

• behoort comes from behoor
• It often expresses duty, correctness, or what is expected
• It is a bit more formal than simply using something like moet in many contexts

So behoort is not describing ownership or belonging here; it is expressing obligation or propriety.

Because die is the definite article the in Afrikaans.

In this sentence:

• die sekretaris = the secretary
• die wysiging = the amendment

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article according to gender, and it does not have separate forms like the vs some gendered alternative.

Wysiging usually means amendment, modification, or change.

It comes from the idea of changing or revising something. In formal or administrative contexts, wysiging often means:

• a change to a document
• an amendment to a rule, contract, or text
• a revision

So in this sentence, it most likely refers to some official or written change that needs to be recorded.

Because the verb here is actually aanteken, not just teken.

aanteken is a separable verb, and in this sentence it appears in an infinitive construction after behoort.

So:

• base verb: aanteken
• infinitive with te: aan te teken

This is very common in Afrikaans with separable verbs.

Compare:

• Ek wil dit aanteken. = I want to record it.
• Ek probeer dit aan te teken. = I am trying to record it.

So aan te teken is not two unrelated words; it is the infinitive form of aanteken with te inserted.

Here aanteken means something like:

• to note down
• to record
• to enter
• to make a note of

In administrative or formal language, aanteken often means officially recording something.

So in this sentence, the meaning is not just casually to draw or to sign, but rather to record the amendment.

That is normal Afrikaans word order.

The sentence structure is:

• Die sekretaris = subject
• behoort = finite verb
• die wysiging = object
• aan te teken = infinitive phrase

So the pattern is:

Subject + finite verb + object + infinitive

That is why you get:

• Die sekretaris behoort die wysiging aan te teken

This is different from English, where we say:

• The secretary ought to record the amendment

Afrikaans often places the object before the infinitive part.

Yes. It is a normal pattern.

After verbs like behoort, Afrikaans often uses a te-infinitive:

• Hy behoort harder te werk.
  = He ought to work harder.
• Ons behoort dit te verstaan.
  = We ought to understand it.

With a separable verb like aanteken, the te goes between the prefix and the main verb:

• aanteken → aan te teken

So behoort die wysiging aan te teken is grammatically very regular.

Not normally here.

After behoort, Afrikaans usually just uses te + infinitive, not om ... te.

So:

• Die sekretaris behoort die wysiging aan te teken. ✅

Using om here would sound unnatural in standard Afrikaans.

A simple way to remember it:

• some verbs take te
• some constructions use om ... te
• behoort usually takes just te

In a simple main clause with a finite verb, the prefix usually separates and moves to the end.

For example:

• Die sekretaris teken die wysiging aan.
  = The secretary records the amendment.

But in the infinitive with te, it becomes:

• Die sekretaris behoort die wysiging aan te teken.

So you can compare:

• finite form: teken ... aan
• infinitive with te: aan te teken

That is a very useful pattern to learn in Afrikaans.

Afrikaans nouns do not work like nouns in languages that have strong grammatical gender systems.

So sekretaris is not marked by a special masculine or feminine article. You simply say:

• die sekretaris

If you want to specify natural gender, you usually do so from context or with other words, but the noun itself and the article do not change the way they might in some other languages.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal or administrative.

Two things contribute to that tone:

• behoort is a somewhat formal way to express ought to
• wysiging is a formal noun often used in official, legal, or bureaucratic contexts

So the whole sentence sounds like something you might read in:

• meeting minutes
• office instructions
• legal or procedural writing
• institutional communication

Yes, but the meaning and tone would shift a bit.

Compare:

• Die sekretaris behoort die wysiging aan te teken.
  = The secretary ought to record the amendment.
• Die sekretaris moet die wysiging aanteken.
  = The secretary must / has to record the amendment.

Difference:

• behoort = should / ought to, more about what is proper or expected
• moet = must / has to, stronger obligation

So they are related, but not identical.

Because after behoort, the verb is in a te-infinitive form.

For a normal verb, that would look like:

• werk → te werk
• lees → te lees

For a separable verb, the prefix splits off and te goes in the middle:

• aanteken → aan te teken

So aanteken is the dictionary form, while aan te teken is the form required by this construction.