Eers nadat refreine gerepeteer is, begin solo's en duette.

Only after refrains have been rehearsed do solos and duets begin.

Breakdown of Eers nadat refreine gerepeteer is, begin solo's en duette.

• wees: to be
• en: and
• begin: to begin
• eers nadat ...: only after; not until

Questions & Answers about Eers nadat refreine gerepeteer is, begin solo's en duette.

What does eers nadat mean, and why not just nadat?

Nadat means after.

Adding eers gives extra emphasis: only after or not until after. So eers nadat tells you that the second action does not happen before the first one is finished.

Compare:

• Nadat refreine gerepeteer is, begin solo's en duette.
  = After the choruses have been rehearsed, solos and duets begin.

• Eers nadat refreine gerepeteer is, begin solo's en duette.
  = Only after the choruses have been rehearsed do solos and duets begin.

So eers is adding the idea of limitation or sequence.

Why is it gerepeteer is instead of is gerepeteer?

Because nadat introduces a subordinate clause, and Afrikaans pushes the finite verb to the end of that clause.

In a main clause, you would normally get:

• Die refreine is gerepeteer.

But after nadat, the order changes to:

• nadat refreine gerepeteer is

This is very common in Afrikaans. Compare:

• Hy het gekom.
• omdat hy gekom het

So gerepeteer is is not random word order; it is the normal subordinate-clause pattern.