In soverre as wat bates bly, ontvang legatarisse hulle.

It is a formal expression meaning insofar as, to the extent that, or as far as.

In this sentence, it introduces a condition or limitation: the rest of the sentence applies only to the extent that assets remain.

This is not everyday casual Afrikaans; it sounds more formal, and especially suitable for legal or administrative language.

Because this is an idiomatic Afrikaans structure. After expressions of degree or extent such as soverre, Afrikaans often uses as wat to introduce the following clause.

So learners should usually understand in soverre as wat as a fixed formal pattern, rather than trying to translate each word separately.

A useful way to think of it is:

• in soverre = to the extent
• as wat ... = introduces the clause explaining that extent

So the whole phrase functions together.

Bates is the plural of bate and means assets.

This is a legal or financial term. In a sentence like this, it usually refers to property, money, or other valuable items in an estate.

So this is not the everyday word you would use for random belongings in casual conversation; it belongs more to legal and financial vocabulary.

Afrikaans often leaves out the article when speaking about something in a general or non-specific way, especially in formal or legal language.

So bates here means assets in a general sense, not necessarily the specific assets as a strongly highlighted set.

Compare the idea:

• bates = assets, assets in general
• die bates = the assets, a specific known set of assets

In legal style, the version without the article can sound more compact and abstract.

Here bly means remain or be left over.

Although bly often means stay or remain in general, in this sentence it has the sense of still being left after something else has happened.

So bates bly means something like assets remain or assets are still left.

This is a slightly formal or compressed way of saying it. In more everyday Afrikaans, you might also see something like bates oorbly in similar contexts.

Legatarisse means legatees.

A legatee is someone who receives something under a will. This is a legal term, not an everyday conversational word.

The singular is:

• legataris = legatee

The plural is:

• legatarisse = legatees

So the sentence is talking specifically about people who inherit particular assets through a legacy.

Because Afrikaans follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

The sentence begins with a fronted clause:

• In soverre as wat bates bly

After that opening element, the finite verb of the main clause must come next:

• ontvang

Then the subject follows:

• legatarisse

So the structure is:

• opening clause
• finite verb
• subject
• object

That is why you get:

• In soverre as wat bates bly, ontvang legatarisse hulle.

and not the more English-like order with the subject immediately before the verb.

Because Afrikaans verbs generally do not change form for person or number in the present tense the way English verbs sometimes do.

So you get:

• ek ontvang
• jy ontvang
• hy ontvang
• ons ontvang
• hulle ontvang

The verb stays the same. That is perfectly normal in Afrikaans.

Hulle refers back to bates.

Since bates is plural, the pronoun is also plural:

• bates = assets
• hulle = them

So ontvang legatarisse hulle means the legatees receive them, where them means the assets.

Yes, hulle can mean they, them, or their, depending on where it appears and how it functions in the sentence.

Here it comes after the verb ontvang, so it is functioning as an object pronoun, meaning them.

So in this sentence:

• legatarisse = subject
• ontvang = verb
• hulle = object

That makes the meaning clear: the legatees receive them, not they receive.

Yes. The vocabulary and structure are quite formal, especially:

• In soverre as wat
• bates
• legatarisse

This sounds like the kind of Afrikaans you might see in a will, a legal commentary, or an official document.

A more everyday way of expressing roughly the same idea might use simpler wording, but this sentence is perfectly natural in a legal register.