Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na en stuur 'n terugbetalingsversoek.

Because in this sentence gaan ... na is the split form of the separable verb nagaan, which means check, look into, review, or verify.

• nagaan = to check / to verify
• In a main clause, Afrikaans often splits separable verbs:
  • Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na.
  • literally: We go the processing time after
  • actual meaning: We check the processing time

So gaan here is not the ordinary verb to go. The na at the end belongs to the verb.

A very good clue is the na at the end.

Compare:

• Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na.
  = We check/review the processing time.
  Here gaan ... na = nagaan

Versus:

• Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd nagaan.
  = We are going to check the processing time.
  Here the first gaan is a future-like helper verb, and nagaan stays together as an infinitive.

So in your sentence, gaan is the conjugated part of nagaan, not a future auxiliary.

Because nagaan is a separable verb.

In Afrikaans main clauses, the conjugated part goes earlier in the sentence, while the separable particle moves later:

• infinitive: nagaan
• main clause: Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na

This is very similar to separable verbs in Dutch and somewhat comparable to phrasal verbs in English, except Afrikaans does it more systematically.

A few similar examples:

• opskryf → Ek skryf dit op.
  = I write it down.
• aansoek doen is not exactly the same type, but compare the idea of multi-part verbal meaning.
• terugkom → Hy kom môre terug.
  = He comes back tomorrow.

Ons means we.

It is capitalized here only because it is the first word of the sentence. In the middle of a sentence, it is normally written ons.

Examples:

• Ons stuur 'n e-pos. = We send an email.
• Hulle sê ons moet wag. = They say we must wait.

Also, Afrikaans does not change the verb for person in most cases the way English does. So ons stuur, ek stuur, hulle stuur all use the same basic verb form.

die is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die verwerkingstyd = the processing time

Unlike English, Afrikaans uses die for all genders and for both singular and plural definite nouns.

Examples:

• die boek = the book
• die tafel = the table
• die boeke = the books

So you do not need to learn different forms like the for different noun genders. die is very versatile.

Yes. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• verwerking = processing
• tyd = time
• verwerkingstyd = processing time

This is completely normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar ideas as two words, where Afrikaans prefers one compound word.

Other examples:

• huiswerk = homework
• motorhuis = garage
• klantediens = customer service

A useful habit for learners is to expect many English noun phrases to appear as one word in Afrikaans.

en simply means and.

It links two coordinated actions with the same subject:

• Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na
• (ons) stuur 'n terugbetalingsversoek

The subject ons is only stated once, but it is understood for both verbs.

So the full sense is:

• We check the processing time and send a refund request.

Because Afrikaans, like English, can leave out the repeated subject when two verbs share the same subject and are linked by en.

So:

• Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na en stuur 'n terugbetalingsversoek.

is a natural short way of saying:

• Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na en ons stuur 'n terugbetalingsversoek.

The second version is grammatical, but usually less smooth unless you want emphasis.

'n is the indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• 'n terugbetalingsversoek = a refund request

A few important things about 'n:

• It is always written with a lowercase n, even if it starts a sentence.
• The apostrophe is part of the spelling.
• In pronunciation, it is usually a very weak unstressed sound, something like a reduced vowel.

If a sentence begins with 'n, the next word gets the capital letter, not 'n itself:

• 'n Terugbetalingsversoek is gestuur.

It is another compound noun.

It is built from:

• terugbetaling = refund / repayment
• versoek = request

Together:

• terugbetalingsversoek = refund request

There is also an -s- linking sound/spelling in the middle:

• terugbetaling + versoek → terugbetalingsversoek

That kind of linking element is common in Afrikaans compounds and is something you mostly get used to through exposure.

That -s- is a linking element often found in Afrikaans compound nouns.

It does not necessarily add a separate meaning of its own. It mainly helps form a natural compound.

So:

• terugbetaling
  • versoek
• becomes terugbetalingsversoek

You will see the same kind of thing in many compounds. Unfortunately, it is not always fully predictable from English, so it is best learned word by word.

If nagaan is used as an infinitive, it stays together:

• Ons wil die verwerkingstyd nagaan.
  = We want to check the processing time.
• Ons sal die verwerkingstyd nagaan.
  = We will check the processing time.

But in your sentence, it is a main clause with the verb conjugated, so it splits:

• Ons gaan die verwerkingstyd na.

That contrast is very useful to remember:

• nagaan = dictionary form / infinitive
• gaan ... na = split form in a main clause

Yes, it is very normal.

The basic pattern is:

• Subject
  • finite verb
    • object
      • separable particle
        • en
          • second verb
            • object

So here:

• Ons = subject
• gaan = finite verb from nagaan
• die verwerkingstyd = object
• na = separable particle
• en
• stuur = second verb
• 'n terugbetalingsversoek = object

This may look unusual if you are expecting English-style word order, but it is standard Afrikaans structure.

A good learner strategy is to break them into parts.

For verwerkingstyd:

• ver-werk-ing-styd

For terugbetalingsversoek:

• te-rug-be-ta-lings-ver-soek

You do not need perfect pronunciation immediately. The most important thing is to recognize the parts and stress the word smoothly rather than trying to pronounce it as random letters.

Also, because Afrikaans uses many compounds, training yourself to spot smaller pieces inside long words will help both pronunciation and comprehension.