Die lens maak die nabyskoot skerp.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for both singular and plural nouns.

So here:

• die lens = the lens
• die nabyskoot = the close-up

English also uses the more than once in a sentence when two different nouns are definite, so this works very similarly.

Yes, maak usually means make, but in this sentence it has the sense of make something become or render.

So:

• maak ... skerp = makes ... sharp

This is very similar to English in sentences like:

• The light makes the room bright.
• The lens makes the close-up sharp.

So maak is not about creating the close-up; it is about causing it to be sharp.

Because scherp is describing the result of what the lens does to the close-up.

The structure is:

• Die lens = subject
• maak = verb
• die nabyskoot = object
• scherp = result/state after the action

So the sentence is literally structured like:

• The lens makes the close-up sharp

This is natural in both Afrikaans and English. The adjective comes after the object because it tells you what the object becomes.

Yes, nabyskoot is one word because Afrikaans very often forms compound nouns as a single written word.

Here:

• naby = near / close
• skoot = shot

Together:

• nabyskoot = close-up / close shot

This is a very common feature of Afrikaans. Where English may use two words, a hyphen, or a fixed expression, Afrikaans often prefers a compound word.

Nabyskoot usually refers to a close-up or close shot, especially in photography or film.

So in this sentence, it means the image or shot taken from close range, or framed closely, is sharp.

It is a technical or descriptive noun:

• naby = close / near
• skoot = shot

In this sentence, scherp is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly placed before a noun.

Compare:

• die skerp lens = the sharp lens
  Here the adjective comes before the noun.

• Die lens is skerp = The lens is sharp
  Here it comes after the verb.

• Die lens maak die nabyskoot skerp = The lens makes the close-up sharp
  Here it describes the object after the action of the verb.

In Afrikaans, predicate adjectives typically stay in their basic form, so scherp is correct.

Yes, depending on context, scherp can mean:

• sharp
• clear
• in focus

In photography and optics, scherp often refers to visual clarity or focus. So in this sentence, sharp is the most direct translation, but in focus could express the idea naturally in English too.

The word order is actually quite close to English in this sentence.

Afrikaans pattern:

• Die lens
• maak
• die nabyskoot
• scherp

English pattern:

• The lens
• makes
• the close-up
• sharp

So this is one of those Afrikaans sentences that feels very familiar to an English speaker.

Because Afrikaans, like English, does not need an extra to be after make in this kind of structure.

Compare English:

• The lens makes the close-up sharp
  not
• The lens makes the close-up be sharp

Afrikaans works the same way:

• maak die nabyskoot skerp

The adjective scherp directly gives the resulting state.

A common past-tense version would be:

• Die lens het die nabyskoot skerp gemaak.

Literally:

• The lens has made the close-up sharp or more naturally,
• The lens made the close-up sharp

This shows a very common Afrikaans past tense pattern:

• het
  • past participle at the end
• maak → gemaak

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• na-by-skoot

Very approximately:

• na like nah
• by somewhat like English bay or buy, depending on accent and how carefully you want to imitate Afrikaans sounds
• skoot roughly like skawt or scoht with a long vowel, not exactly like English shoot

The main thing for a learner is to recognize it as one compound word: na-by-skoot.