In plaas daarvan om dit te skuif, verstel hy die lens.

It means instead of when what follows is an action.

So in this sentence:

In plaas daarvan om dit te skuif, verstel hy die lens.

the structure is introducing an alternative action:

• instead of moving it
• he adjusts the lens

A good way to remember it is:

• in plaas van = instead of
• in plaas daarvan om ... te ... = instead of ...-ing / instead of doing ...

So this is a very common Afrikaans way to say instead of doing something.

Great question. In plaas van by itself often goes before a noun:

• in plaas van koffie = instead of coffee
• in plaas van die lens = instead of the lens

But when Afrikaans goes on to talk about an action, it often uses the fuller pattern:

• in plaas daarvan om ... te ...

Literally, daarvan is something like of that/from that, but in this fixed expression it is best learned as part of the whole phrase.

So:

• in plaas van die lens = instead of the lens
• in plaas daarvan om die lens te verstel = instead of adjusting the lens

In other words, daarvan om ... te ... helps turn the phrase into instead of doing ...

Here om introduces an infinitive clause, similar to English to in structures like to move it, though the grammar is not identical.

In Afrikaans, after expressions like in plaas daarvan, you commonly get:

• om + object + te + infinitive

So:

• om dit te skuif = to move it

This is a very common pattern in Afrikaans:

• Hy probeer om dit te doen. = He tries to do it.
• Dit is maklik om te sien. = It is easy to see.

In your sentence, om is part of the structure that means instead of doing something.

Te is the usual infinitive marker in Afrikaans, similar to English to before a verb.

So:

• skuif = move / shift
• te skuif = to move / to shift

In this sentence:

• om dit te skuif = to move it

A useful pattern is:

• om ... te + verb

For example:

• om te lees = to read
• om te werk = to work
• om dit te verstel = to adjust it

So te marks the verb as an infinitive.

This is because Afrikaans is a verb-second language in main clauses.

When the sentence starts with something other than the subject, the finite verb still has to come second. That causes an inversion:

• normal order: Hy verstel die lens.
• after a fronted phrase: In plaas daarvan om dit te skuif, verstel hy die lens.

So the pattern is:

1. fronted phrase: In plaas daarvan om dit te skuif
2. finite verb: verstel
3. subject: hy
4. rest of clause: die lens

This is very similar to Dutch and German word order.

They are related, but not the same.

• skuif = move / slide / shift
• verstel = adjust / set / reposition

So skuif often suggests physically moving something from one place to another, while verstel suggests making a controlled adjustment.

In this sentence, the contrast is something like:

• not simply moving it
• but adjusting the lens

That makes sense in a context like a camera, microscope, or optical device.

No. Afrikaans verbs do not usually change form according to the subject.

So:

• ek verstel = I adjust
• jy verstel = you adjust
• hy verstel = he adjusts
• ons verstel = we adjust

The verb stays the same.

This is much simpler than English, where you have:

• I adjust
• he adjusts

In Afrikaans, there is no extra -s ending here.

Dit means it.

In this sentence, it refers to whatever object is being talked about in the wider context. The sentence itself does not tell you exactly what dit is; you get that from previous context.

A few useful points:

• dit = it
• Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the same way as languages like German
• so dit is a normal pronoun for it

Here:

• om dit te skuif = to move it

Die means the, while ’n means a / an.

So:

• die lens = the lens
• ’n lens = a lens

The sentence uses die lens because it refers to a specific lens that both speaker and listener already know about, or that has already been mentioned.

Yes, the comma is natural here because the sentence begins with a longer introductory phrase:

• In plaas daarvan om dit te skuif,
• verstel hy die lens.

The comma helps separate the introductory part from the main clause.

In Afrikaans, this kind of punctuation is common and makes the sentence easier to read.

Yes, but it would change the emphasis.

For example:

• Hy verstel die lens in plaas daarvan om dit te skuif.

This is still understandable and natural. It means the same basic thing, but the focus is slightly different.

• Starting with In plaas daarvan om ... emphasizes the contrast first.
• Starting with Hy verstel die lens ... emphasizes what he does first.

So the original sentence is especially good if the speaker wants to highlight instead of moving it.