Sy plak die rand af sonder dat sy 'n vlek maak.

Afplak is a separable verb in Afrikaans. In this sentence, plak is the main verb and af is its separable particle.

So:

• dictionary form: afplak
• in a main clause: Sy plak die rand af
• in an infinitive or participle, it often stays together: om die rand af te plak

Here afplak means something like to tape off, to mask off, or to seal off by sticking something over/along it, depending on context.

Here rand means edge, rim, or border.

Afrikaans rand has several possible meanings depending on context, including:

• edge / border / rim
• margin
• the South African currency, rand

In this sentence, it clearly means the edge or border of something.

Because the sentence contains two clauses, and each clause has its own subject.

• Sy plak die rand af = main clause
• sonder dat sy 'n vlek maak = subordinate clause

Afrikaans normally states the subject again in the second clause. English often uses without making a stain/mark, where the subject is understood, but Afrikaans here uses a full clause: without that she makes a stain/mark, i.e. without making a stain/mark.

Because dat is a subordinating conjunction, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses the finite verb usually goes to the end.

So:

• main clause: Sy plak die rand af
• subordinate clause after dat: sy 'n vlek maak

This is a very common Afrikaans word-order pattern.

Sonder dat means without in the sense of without it happening that... or without the fact that...

In natural English, you would usually translate it more smoothly as:

• without making ...
• without ...ing
• without ... happening

So sonder dat sy 'n vlek maak means without her making a stain/mark.

Both can often be translated as without ...ing, but they are used a bit differently.

• sonder dat + clause introduces a full clause with its own subject and verb.
• sonder om ... te + infinitive is more like without doing.

So this sentence could often also be expressed as:

• Sy plak die rand af sonder om 'n vlek te maak.

That version is especially natural when the subject is the same as in the main clause.

Why use sonder dat then? It can sound slightly more explicit because the subject is stated again: sy.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.

A few important points:

• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• it is normally not capitalized, even at the beginning of a sentence in running text
• it is usually pronounced as a very short neutral vowel, like uh /ə/

So 'n vlek means a stain/mark.

Here vlek is a noun, meaning stain, spot, or mark.

So 'n vlek maak literally means make a stain/mark, or more naturally in English, leave a stain, cause a mark, or make a smudge, depending on context.

This is normal idiomatic Afrikaans: the action is expressed with maak plus a noun.

Because sonder dat already carries a negative idea: without.

Afrikaans does not need extra negation here. The sentence is not saying she does not make a stain as a separate negative statement; it is saying she tapes off the edge without making a stain.

So the negative meaning is already built into sonder.

It is in the present tense:

• plak = sticks / tapes off / is taping off
• maak = makes / is making

As in English, the exact time reference can depend on context. The present tense in Afrikaans can describe:

• something happening now
• a habitual action
• a general description
• instructions or demonstrations

Yes and no, depending on the grammatical form.

The basic verb is written as one word in dictionaries:

• afplak

But in a main clause, the separable particle usually splits off:

• Sy plak die rand af.

In other structures it can stay together or appear in a different grouped form, for example:

• om die rand af te plak
• die rand is afgeplak

So the separation is a normal feature of separable verbs in Afrikaans.

Die means the.

Unlike English, Afrikaans uses die for both singular and plural nouns:

• die rand = the edge
• die rande = the edges

So you do not need to learn separate words for singular the and plural the.