Alvorens ons die tandartspraktyk besoek, lees ons die verwysingsbrief.

Alvorens means before.

It is correct Afrikaans, but it sounds more formal or written than the word many speakers would use in everyday conversation. In ordinary speech, people often prefer voordat.

So this sentence could also be said as:

Voordat ons die tandartspraktyk besoek, lees ons die verwysingsbrief.

Both are correct, but alvorens has a more formal tone.

That is because alvorens introduces a subordinate clause.

In Afrikaans, when a subordinate clause is introduced by a word like alvorens, voordat, omdat, or dat, the finite verb usually goes to the end of the clause.

So:

• Main clause word order: Ons besoek die tandartspraktyk.
• Subordinate clause word order: alvorens ons die tandartspraktyk besoek

This is very similar to Dutch and German-style word order, and it is something English speakers often need to get used to in Afrikaans.

Because the sentence begins with another clause:

Alvorens ons die tandartspraktyk besoek, ...

When something comes first in an Afrikaans main clause structure, the verb must come second. This causes inversion:

• Normal order: Ons lees die verwysingsbrief.
• After a fronted clause: Alvorens ..., lees ons die verwysingsbrief.

So lees ons is not unusual here; it is the normal result of Afrikaans word order rules.

Tandartspraktyk means dental practice, dentist’s office, or dental clinic, depending on context.

It is a compound noun:

• tandarts = dentist
• praktyk = practice

Afrikaans often combines words into one long compound, just like Dutch and German do.

Verwysingsbrief means referral letter.

It is also a compound noun:

• verwysing = referral / reference
• brief = letter

So the sentence is talking about reading a referral letter before visiting the dental practice.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for almost everything:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike languages such as German or French, Afrikaans does not change the depending on gender.

In this sentence:

• die tandartspraktyk = the dental practice
• die verwysingsbrief = the referral letter

That makes articles in Afrikaans much simpler than in many other European languages.

Yes, in this sentence besoek means visit.

It is used as a verb here:

• ons besoek die tandartspraktyk = we visit the dental practice

Afrikaans also has the noun besoek, meaning visit:

• Die besoek was kort. = The visit was short.

So the same form can function as both noun and verb, depending on the sentence.

Yes, you could say something like:

Alvorens ons na die tandartspraktyk gaan, lees ons die verwysingsbrief.

This means Before we go to the dental practice, we read the referral letter.

The difference is:

• besoek = visit
• gaan na = go to

Both can work, but besoek focuses more on the act of visiting, while gaan na focuses more on going there.

Because besoek is a direct transitive verb in Afrikaans, just like visit in English.

You say:

• ons besoek die tandartspraktyk
• we visit the dental practice

You do not need a preposition like na here.

But if you use gaan, then you do need na:

• ons gaan na die tandartspraktyk = we go to the dental practice

Yes. Grammatically, it is in the present tense:

• besoek = visit
• lees = read

But, as in English, the present tense can sometimes refer to a future situation if the context makes that clear.

So this sentence could mean either:

• a general/habitual action: Before we visit the dental practice, we read the referral letter
• a planned future action: Before we go to the dental practice, we will read the referral letter

Afrikaans often relies on context rather than always marking the future explicitly.

A more everyday version would probably be:

Voordat ons die tandartspraktyk besoek, lees ons die verwysingsbrief.

Or even:

Voordat ons na die tandartspraktyk gaan, lees ons die verwysingsbrief.

These versions are less formal than the one with alvorens, but they mean essentially the same thing.