Die bestuursinstrukteur gaan die rathefboom, koppelaar, versneller en handrem na.

Because in this sentence gaan ... na is not the future construction. It is the separable verb nagaan, which means to check, inspect, or go over.

So:

• gaan ... na = present-tense form of nagaan
• not gaan
  • another verb

That is why Die bestuursinstrukteur gaan ... na means the instructor checks those things, not that he is going to do something later.

Because nagaan is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a main clause, the verb splits:

• nagaan → gaan ... na

So the finite verb part (gaan) comes earlier in the sentence, and the particle (na) goes to the end.

This is very common in both Afrikaans and Dutch-style grammar.

Example:

• Ek gaan dit na. = I check it.

The dictionary form is nagaan.

You would normally look it up under nagaan, not under gaan.

This matters because in other sentence types, the parts may come back together:

• main clause: Hy gaan die remme na.
• subordinate clause: ... dat hy die remme nagaan.
• infinitive: om die remme na te gaan

So if you want the base verb, use nagaan.

Because Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• bestuur = driving / control / management
• instrukteur = instructor

Together:

• bestuursinstrukteur = driving instructor

English usually separates these words, but Afrikaans often joins them.

That s is a linking sound/letter often used in Afrikaans compounds.

So the word is built like this:

• bestuur
  • s
    • instrukteur → bestuursinstrukteur

That s does not have a separate meaning by itself here. It just helps form the compound in the standard way.

You will see this in many compound words.

Because one die can apply to the entire coordinated object:

• die rathefboom, koppelaar, versneller en handrem

This is similar to English saying:

• the gear lever, clutch, accelerator and handbrake

You do not have to repeat die before each noun.

You could repeat it for emphasis or clarity:

• die rathefboom, die koppelaar, die versneller en die handrem

But using just one die is completely normal and natural.

Here die is the definite article, meaning the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

And Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender like German or French, so you do not need different forms for masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.

So die is much simpler than the-type articles in many other European languages.

Afrikaans verbs usually change very little compared with English.

In the present tense, the verb generally stays the same for all subjects:

• ek gaan
• jy gaan
• hy gaan
• ons gaan
• hulle gaan

So gaan does not change here because Afrikaans has very limited verb conjugation.

That makes sentences like this easier than their English equivalents in some ways.

It follows a normal Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

• Subject: Die bestuursinstrukteur
• Verb: gaan
• Object: die rathefboom, koppelaar, versneller en handrem
• Separable particle: na

So the structure is basically:

Subject + finite verb + object + particle

That final na is there because of the separable verb nagaan.

Yes. Depending on context, nagaan can mean:

• check
• inspect
• go over
• verify
• look through

In this sentence, with car controls, check or inspect is the most natural translation.

So the exact English wording can change a little, even though the Afrikaans verb is the same.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• Die ≈ dee
• bestuursinstrukteur ≈ buh-STYURS-in-struk-TUR
• rathefboom ≈ RAHT-hef-bohm
• koppelaar ≈ KOP-uh-lahr
• versneller ≈ fer-SNEL-er
• handrem ≈ HANT-rem
• na ≈ nah

A few notes:

• Afrikaans r is usually trilled or tapped more than in English.
• The g sound in Afrikaans is often a harsh throat sound, but this sentence does not highlight it much.
• The vowel sounds are not exactly the same as English ones, so these are only rough approximations.

Mostly yes.

Afrikaans also uses commas to separate items in a list, and en means and.

So:

• rathefboom, koppelaar, versneller en handrem

works just like:

• gear lever, clutch, accelerator and handbrake

As in standard British English, there is normally no comma before en unless needed for clarity.