Ek draai die stuurstang vas.

Because vasdraai is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

The full idea is vasdraai = to tighten / fasten by turning. In a main clause, the verb splits:

• Ek draai die stuurstang vas.

Here:

• draai goes into the normal verb position
• vas moves to the end

This is very common in Afrikaans with particle verbs.

Here vas means something like tight, firmly, or securely.

By itself, vas often means:

• firm
• tight
• stuck
• fastened

So draai ... vas literally gives the idea of turning something tight.

Not usually. Draai by itself mainly means turn, rotate, or twist.

Examples:

• Ek draai die sleutel. = I turn the key.
• Hy draai links. = He turns left.

When you add vas, it becomes vasdraai, which means tighten or screw tight.

So in this sentence, the meaning comes from the combination draai + vas, not from draai alone.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all nouns, whether singular or plural.

So unlike languages that change the for gender or number, Afrikaans keeps it simple:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kinders = the children

So die stuurstang just means the steering rod / tie rod / handlebar stem depending on context, with the normal definite article die.

Yes. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So stuurstang is made from:

• stuur = steer / steering
• stang = bar / rod

This is very normal in Afrikaans, just as in Dutch and German. English often writes similar ideas as two words or with a hyphen, but Afrikaans usually prefers one solid compound.

It is in the present tense.

In Afrikaans, the present tense can often translate as either:

• I tighten the steering rod
• I am tightening the steering rod

The exact English choice depends on context. Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English may use either simple present or present continuous.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for different persons in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek draai
• jy draai
• hy draai
• ons draai

That is much simpler than English, where you get I turn but he turns. In Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same.

You use the Afrikaans double negative:

• Ek draai die stuurstang nie vas nie.

Notice the pattern:

• first nie comes after the main part of the sentence
• second nie comes at the end

With a separable verb, the particle vas stays before the final nie.

So the structure is:

Ek + draai + die stuurstang + nie + vas + nie

In a subordinate clause, separable verbs are often written as one word again.

For example:

• ... omdat ek die stuurstang vasdraai.
• ... because I tighten / am tightening the steering rod.

So compare:

Main clause:

• Ek draai die stuurstang vas.

Subordinate clause:

• ... omdat ek die stuurstang vasdraai.

This is an important pattern in Afrikaans.

No. Afrikaans does not mark the direct object with special case endings the way some languages do.

So die stuurstang stays the same form. Word order tells you its role:

• Ek = subject
• draai ... vas = verb
• die stuurstang = direct object

Afrikaans relies much more on word order than on case endings.

Possibly, depending on context, but the most natural sense of vasdraai is tighten or fasten by turning.

That is because vas adds the idea of securely / tight / fixed. So even if the physical action involves screwing, the core meaning is that the part ends up tight or fastened.

In technical contexts, English may translate it as:

• tighten
• screw tight
• fasten

depending on what the part is and how it is being secured.