Ten spyte daarvan dat die wagtydperk lank is, begin die bloedskenking.

to be

Breakdown of Ten spyte daarvan dat die wagtydperk lank is, begin die bloedskenking.

• lank: long
• begin: to begin
• ten spyte daarvan dat ...: despite the fact that

Questions & Answers about Ten spyte daarvan dat die wagtydperk lank is, begin die bloedskenking.

What does ten spyte daarvan dat mean, and why is it so long?

It is a fixed expression meaning despite the fact that or in spite of the fact that.

It is built in parts:

• ten spyte van = in spite of
• daarvan = of that
• dat = that

So:

• Ten spyte daarvan dat die wagtydperk lank is
  = Despite the fact that the waiting period is long

Afrikaans often uses this longer structure before a whole clause. If you only want to refer to a noun phrase, you can use a shorter version:

• Ten spyte van die lang wagtydperk = In spite of the long waiting period

So the longer version is used because what follows is a full clause: die wagtydperk lank is.

Why is dat used here?