Die polisie ondervra die beskuldigde.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the. It is used before both nouns here:

• die polisie = the police
• die beskuldigde = the accused / the defendant

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and unlike some other languages, it also does not have different forms like the vs thee or masculine/feminine versions. Die is the normal definite article in all these cases.

Polisie is a collective noun here, referring to the police as a body or institution.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for singular vs plural in the present tense, so the verb ondervra looks the same either way. In this sentence, the important point is simply that die polisie means the police.

The word order is the normal Afrikaans main-clause order:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Die polisie = subject
• ondervra = verb
• die beskuldigde = object

That is very similar to English in a simple sentence like this.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually stay the same in the present tense regardless of the subject.

So you get:

• Ek ondervra
• Jy ondervra
• Hy ondervra
• Die polisie ondervra

This is much simpler than English, where you have forms like I question but he questions.

Ondervra means to question, to interrogate, or to examine by questioning, depending on context.

It is a single verb, written as one word. In this sentence, it has a fairly formal or legal/police sense, not just casual everyday asking.

Yes. This is the Afrikaans simple present.

Depending on context, it can match different English forms, such as:

• The police question the accused.
• The police are questioning the accused.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or the present continuous.

Here, beskuldigde is functioning as a noun and means the accused or the defendant.

Historically and grammatically, it comes from a form related to beskuldig (accuse). Afrikaans often uses adjective-like or participle-like forms as nouns when the person is understood from context.

So die beskuldigde literally means something like the accused one/person, but in natural English you would usually say the accused or the defendant.

Afrikaans does not normally use case endings on articles or nouns the way some other languages do.

So die stays die, whether the noun is the subject or the object. You know die beskuldigde is the object mainly because of its position after the verb:

• Die polisie = who is doing the action
• die beskuldigde = who is receiving the action

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the same way languages like German or Dutch do.

That means the same definite article die is used regardless of whether the noun refers to a man, a woman, a thing, or a group. That is why both polisie and beskuldigde take die.

Yes. In Afrikaans main clauses, the finite verb normally stays in second position.

So if you begin with another element, the verb still comes next. For example:

• Vandag ondervra die polisie die beskuldigde.

Here Vandag comes first, so the verb ondervra still has to come second, and the subject die polisie moves after it.

That verb-second pattern is a very important feature of Afrikaans word order.