Die argitek en strukturele ingenieur pas die tekeningskaal aan.

The verb here is aanpas, which is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a normal main clause, the conjugated part goes near the beginning, and the separable particle goes to the end:

• Die argitek en strukturele ingenieur pas die tekeningskaal aan.

So:

• pas = the verb stem in the main clause
• aan = the separable particle

Together they mean adjust / adapt / modify, depending on context.

You will often see these three patterns:

• Main clause: pas ... aan
• Subordinate clause: aanpas
• Infinitive with te: aan te pas

For example:

• Ek dink dat hulle die tekeningskaal aanpas.
• Hulle probeer om die tekeningskaal aan te pas.

Because of the same separable-verb pattern.

Afrikaans main clauses usually place the finite verb early in the sentence, often in the second position. If the verb is separable, the particle is sent to the end.

So the structure is:

• Die argitek en strukturele ingenieur = subject
• pas = finite verb
• die tekeningskaal = object
• aan = separable particle

This is very normal Afrikaans word order.

Because the adjective comes before the noun, and in that position Afrikaans adjectives often take an -e ending.

So:

• struktureel = basic adjective form
• strukturele ingenieur = structural engineer

This is called the attributive form of the adjective.

So a beginner rule of thumb is:

• adjective by itself or after a linking verb: often basic form
• adjective before a noun: often -e form

Afrikaans writes compounds as one word much more consistently than English does.

So:

• tekening = drawing
• skaal = scale
• tekeningskaal = drawing scale

This is extremely common in Afrikaans. English often uses two words where Afrikaans prefers one compound word.

Other similar patterns are:

• stadsraad = city council
• taalkursus = language course

Afrikaans often allows one definite article to be shared across two nouns joined by en.

So:

• die argitek en strukturele ingenieur

can function like:

• die argitek en die strukturele ingenieur

Both are possible. The version with only one die is just less repetitive.

Yes.

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So Afrikaans does not change the definite article the way some other languages do.

Examples:

• die argitek = the architect
• die ingenieurs = the engineers

Usually a learner should read it as the architect and the structural engineer.

However, like English, coordination can sometimes be context-dependent. A phrase like this could in some situations describe:

• two people: the architect and the structural engineer
• one person with two roles: the architect and structural engineer

If the speaker wants to be especially clear about two separate people, they may repeat the article:

• die argitek en die strukturele ingenieur

But in many real sentences, context tells you which meaning is intended.

Not in the way English learners might expect.

Afrikaans regular verbs in the present tense usually do not change form for person or number.

So you get:

• Ek pas aan.
• Hy pas aan.
• Hulle pas aan.

The subject here is plural in meaning because it refers to more than one role, but the verb form pas would look the same even with a singular subject.

The sentence follows a very common Afrikaans pattern:

• Subject: Die argitek en strukturele ingenieur
• Finite verb: pas
• Object: die tekeningskaal
• Separable particle: aan

So the sentence is built like this:

Subject + finite verb + object + particle

That is a very useful pattern to recognize in Afrikaans main clauses with separable verbs.

This is a great thing to notice, because separable verbs behave differently in different structures.

Main clause

• Die argitek en strukturele ingenieur pas die tekeningskaal aan.

Subordinate clause

• Ek weet dat die argitek en strukturele ingenieur die tekeningskaal aanpas.

Here the verb is no longer split; aanpas stays together at the end.

Infinitive with om ... te

• Hulle probeer om die tekeningskaal aan te pas.

Here te goes between the particle and the verb stem:

• aan te pas

This is one of the most important patterns to learn with Afrikaans separable verbs.