Die geskiktheidskontrole toets vir aansteeklike siektes.

Because Afrikaans usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• geskiktheid = suitability / eligibility
• kontrole = check / screening / control

Together, geskiktheidskontrole means something like eligibility check or screening for suitability.

This is very common in Afrikaans. Where English often uses several separate words, Afrikaans often combines them into one noun.

-heid is a very common Afrikaans noun ending. It works a lot like English -ness or sometimes -ity.

For example:

• geskik = suitable / fit
• geskiktheid = suitability / fitness / eligibility

So geskiktheid is the abstract noun formed from geskik.

In geskiktheidskontrole, you also see an extra -s- before kontrole. That -s- is a linking sound often used inside compounds.

Yes. die is the definite article, so here it means the.

A couple of useful things to know:

• Afrikaans does not change the for gender.
• die can be used for both singular and plural nouns.
• It is capitalized here only because it is the first word of the sentence.

So die is much simpler than English article systems in some ways.

Here, toets is a verb: tests.

That can confuse learners because toets can also be a noun meaning test.

In this sentence, you can tell it is a verb because it comes after the subject:

• Die geskiktheidskontrole = the subject
• toets = the finite verb
• vir aansteeklike siektes = a prepositional phrase

Also, in the present tense, Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form the way English verbs do. So toets can correspond to English test or tests, depending on the subject.

Because toets vir is the normal way to say test for in Afrikaans.

So:

• toets = test
• vir = for

Together:

• toets vir aansteeklike siektes = tests for infectious/contagious diseases

This matches English quite closely. Even though vir often means for, you should learn toets vir as a standard combination.

Because the adjective is being used before a noun.

In Afrikaans, adjectives often take an -e ending when they come directly before the noun they describe. That is called the attributive form.

So:

• aansteeklik = contagious / infectious
• aansteeklike siektes = contagious / infectious diseases

Compare the idea:

• predicative: Die siekte is aansteeklik. = The disease is contagious.
• attributive: 'n aansteeklike siekte = a contagious disease

So in your sentence, aansteeklike is exactly what we expect before siektes.

Siektes is the plural of siekte.

• siekte = disease / illness
• siektes = diseases / illnesses

Many Afrikaans nouns form the plural with -s, especially nouns ending in an unstressed -e sound. So this plural pattern is very normal.

Yes, in this sentence it is quite close to English word order.

The structure is:

• Die geskiktheidskontrole = subject
• toets = verb
• vir aansteeklike siektes = prepositional phrase

So the sentence follows the usual main-clause Afrikaans pattern where the finite verb comes early in the clause, typically in the second position.

That means the sentence is very straightforward for an English speaker:

• The eligibility screening
  • tests
    • for infectious diseases

You know it mainly from the noun itself and the meaning, not from die.

That is because die can mean the for both singular and plural nouns in Afrikaans.

Here, geskiktheidskontrole is a singular compound noun meaning one screening/check/process. If it were plural, the noun itself would have to show that.

So the singular sense comes from:

• the form of geskiktheidskontrole
• the overall meaning of the sentence

not from the article alone.