Was die filtermandjie ingeval die espressovloei stadig raak.

No. In Afrikaans, was is the verb to wash. In this sentence it is the imperative form, so it means Wash.

It only happens to look like the English past tense was. They are not related in meaning here.

Because this is a command or instruction. In Afrikaans, just like in English, the subject is usually left out in the imperative.

So:

• Was die filtermandjie = Wash the filter basket
• not normally Jy was die filtermandjie in an instruction

Adding jy would usually sound marked or emphatic.

Filtermandjie is a compound noun:

• filter = filter
• mandjie = little basket / basket

Afrikaans very often joins nouns together into one word, so filtermandjie is written as a single unit.

The ending -jie is a very common Afrikaans diminutive ending. It often corresponds to English little or small.

So mandjie literally comes from mand + -jie, giving the sense of small basket.

In real usage, though, a diminutive does not always feel strongly emotional or cute. Sometimes it is simply the normal word for the object, as in technical terms like filtermandjie.

Here ingeval means if or in the event that.

It introduces the condition under which the action should be done. So the sentence structure is:

• Was die filtermandjie = the instruction
• ingeval die espressovloei stadig raak = the condition

Here it is correctly written as one word because it is being used as a conjunction before a clause.

That is different from expressions such as in geval van nood, where in geval van is a phrase meaning in case of followed by a noun.

So:

• ingeval die espressovloei stadig raak = if the espresso flow becomes slow
• in geval van nood = in case of emergency

Because ingeval introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses the finite verb normally goes to the end.

So the clause is:

• ingeval die espressovloei stadig raak

not

• ingeval raak die espressovloei stadig

This end-position of the verb is one of the most important word-order patterns in Afrikaans.

Raak can mean touch, but not here.

In this sentence, raak means become or get. So stadig raak means:

• become slow
• get slow
• more naturally in English, slow down

This is a very common use of raak in Afrikaans.

Because Afrikaans normally writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• espresso
  • vloei = espressovloei

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often leaves such combinations as separate words, but Afrikaans usually joins them.

Inside espressovloei, it is functioning as part of a noun, meaning flow.

That can be confusing because vloei can also be a verb meaning flow.

Here you can tell it is part of a noun because:

• it is inside the compound espressovloei
• the compound is preceded by die

So die espressovloei means the espresso flow.

Because each die belongs to a different noun phrase:

• die filtermandjie
• die espressovloei

Both nouns are treated as definite in the sentence. Afrikaans often uses die in places where English may or may not use the, especially in technical or instructional contexts.

Often yes. As is the everyday word for if and would sound natural in many contexts:

• Was die filtermandjie as die espressovloei stadig raak.

Using ingeval can sound a bit more formal or a bit more like in the event that. Both can work, but as is often the more common conversational choice.

In standard written Afrikaans, a comma is often used to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause, so many writers would write:

Was die filtermandjie, ingeval die espressovloei stadig raak.

In very short instructions, punctuation is sometimes simplified, but the comma is the more standard written form.