Noudat die maksimumtemperatuur hoog is, dra ons lospassende katoenklere.

Noudat means now that. It is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a subordinate clause:

Noudat die maksimumtemperatuur hoog is = Now that the maximum temperature is high

Afrikaans uses noudat to give background or a reason connected to the present situation.

Because Noudat introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans, the finite verb in a subordinate clause usually goes to the end.

So:

• die maksimumtemperatuur is hoog = main clause order
• noudat die maksimumtemperatuur hoog is = subordinate clause order

This is very common in Afrikaans after words like dat, omdat, as, wanneer, terwyl, and noudat.

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

When the sentence starts with the subordinate clause Noudat die maksimumtemperatuur hoog is, that whole clause takes the first position. Then the finite verb of the main clause must come second:

• Noudat die maksimumtemperatuur hoog is, dra ons lospassende katoenklere.

If you started directly with the subject, you would say:

• Ons dra lospassende katoenklere.

So dra ons is not random inversion; it happens because something else came first.

The comma separates the opening subordinate clause from the main clause.

So the structure is:

• Noudat die maksimumtemperatuur hoog is, = subordinate clause
• dra ons lospassende katoenklere. = main clause

This comma is very normal in Afrikaans when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause.

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

So:

• maksimum
  • temperatuur → maksimumtemperatuur

This is one of the most important spelling habits to get used to in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them.

Yes. In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for all nouns in the singular and plural.

So unlike languages that have different words for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns, Afrikaans simply uses die:

• die temperatuur
• die klere
• die man
• die vrou

So die maksimumtemperatuur just means the maximum temperature.

Because hoog here is a predicate adjective: it comes after the verb is.

• die maksimumtemperatuur is hoog = predicate adjective

In Afrikaans, predicate adjectives usually do not take the extra -e ending.

Compare:

• die maksimumtemperatuur is hoog = the maximum temperature is high
• die hoë maksimumtemperatuur = the high maximum temperature

So:

• after is → usually hoog
• before a noun → often hoë

Lospassende is an adjective meaning loose-fitting.

It appears before the noun katoenklere, so it is being used attributively. In Afrikaans, adjectives before nouns often take an -e ending.

So:

• lospassende katoenklere = loose-fitting cotton clothes

Compare that with a predicate use:

• Die klere is lospassend. = The clothes are loose-fitting.

So the -e here is part of the normal adjective form before a noun.

Because it is another compound noun:

• katoen = cotton
• klere = clothes

Together:

• katoenklere = cotton clothes

Afrikaans commonly joins material + noun combinations into one word. The second part is the main noun, and the first part describes it.

Klere means clothes. In normal usage, it behaves like a plural/collective idea, much like English clothes.

You would usually not use a singular form to mean one item of clothing in everyday speech. If you want to refer to a single item, you would normally use a more specific noun, such as a word for a shirt, dress, jacket, and so on.

So in this sentence, katoenklere means cotton clothes/clothing.

In Afrikaans, dra is the normal verb for wearing clothes, shoes, glasses, jewellery, and similar things.

Examples:

• Ek dra 'n hoed. = I am wearing a hat.
• Sy dra bril. = She wears/is wearing glasses.

The same verb dra can also mean carry or bear, so its range is wider than English wear.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek dra
• jy dra
• hy dra
• ons dra
• hulle dra

This is much simpler than English, which has forms like I wear but he wears. In Afrikaans, the verb normally stays the same.