Die hotel laat toe dat gaste koffie buite drink.

The hotel allows guests to drink coffee outside.

Breakdown of Die hotel laat toe dat gaste koffie buite drink.

• drink: to drink
• buite: outside
• dat: that
• die hotel: the hotel
• die gas: the guest
• die koffie: the coffee
• laat toe: to allow

Questions & Answers about Die hotel laat toe dat gaste koffie buite drink.

Why is laat toe written as two separate words instead of one like toelaat?

Afrikaans has separable verbs, much like German. The infinitive of the verb is toelaat (to allow), but in a finite clause you split it into laat (the verbal stem) and the particle toe. So in Die hotel laat toe dat…, laat appears in second position and toe is “thrown” to the end of the clause or right after the object.

What role does dat play, and could I use om … te instead?

dat introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause. In this sentence it marks “that guests drink coffee outside.” You can indeed also use an infinitive construction:
Die hotel laat gaste toe om koffie buite te drink.
Both are correct. With dat you’ll see the verb go to the end of the clause; with om … te you keep a simpler word order and use te before the infinitive.

Why does drink come at the very end of the sentence?

In Afrikaans subordinate clauses introduced by dat, the finite verb moves to the end. The pattern is generally: subject – object – adverb(s) – verb. Hence gaste (subject) – koffie (object) – buite (adverb) – drink (verb).

Why is the adverb buite placed after koffie and before drink?

Afrikaans places adverbs of place and time between the object and the final verb in a dat-clause. The default subordinate-clause order is:

1. Subject
2. Object
3. Adverb(s) of place/time/manner
4. Verb

So koffie buite drink follows that rule.

Why is there no article before koffie? Could I say ’n koffie?

koffie here is used as a non-count (mass) noun meaning “coffee (in general).” We omit the article in that case. If you mean “a (specific) cup of coffee,” you can say ’n koffie. E.g. Dat gaste ’n koffie buite drink, but that slightly shifts the focus to individual cups.

Why does the sentence use die hotel instead of ’n hotel?

die is the definite article (“the”), so you’re talking about a particular hotel the listener knows about. If you just mean “a hotel” in general, use the indefinite article ’n:
’n hotel laat gaste toe …
Using die makes it clear you have a specific hotel in mind.

Is there any difference in meaning or formality between laat toe dat … and laat toe om … te …?

Meaning-wise they are virtually identical. However, laat toe om … te (the infinitive form) is more common in everyday speech. The laat toe dat … structure (with a full clause) can feel a bit more formal or emphatic, especially in writing.

What exactly is toe in laat toe? It looks like the word toe meaning “to” or “then.”

In laat toe the word toe is not the preposition “to” nor the adverb “then,” but the separable particle of the verb toelaat. You must learn toelaat as a unit; toe only belongs to it as its verb-particle.