Sy wonder hoekom die kelner so laat is.

Yes. Sy can mean she, but it can also mean his depending on context.

In Sy wonder hoekom die kelner so laat is, it means she because it is being used as the subject of the sentence, followed by the verb wonder.

• Sy wonder ... = She wonders ...
• sy boek = his book

So Afrikaans uses the same written form for two different meanings, and context tells you which one is intended.

Yes, wonder in Afrikaans is a real verb meaning to wonder.

So:

• Sy wonder = She wonders
• Ek wonder = I wonder

It looks almost identical to English, which makes it easy to recognize. Just remember it is a normal Afrikaans verb and follows Afrikaans grammar.

Hoekom means why.

It introduces the clause explaining what she is wondering about:

• Sy wonder hoekom ... = She wonders why ...

It is one of the common Afrikaans question words, like:

• wat = what
• waar = where
• wanneer = when
• hoekom = why

This is one of the most important grammar points in the sentence.

After hoekom, you get a subordinate clause:

• hoekom die kelner so laat is

In Afrikaans, the conjugated verb often moves to the end in subordinate clauses. That is why is comes last here.

Compare:

• Main clause: Die kelner is so laat. = The waiter is so late.
• Subordinate clause: ... hoekom die kelner so laat is. = ... why the waiter is so late.

So the final is is normal Afrikaans word order.

Yes. Die here means the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for singular and plural nouns, unlike English, which only has the anyway, and unlike some other languages that change articles for gender.

So:

• die kelner = the waiter
• die kelners = the waiters

Afrikaans articles are much simpler than in many European languages because they do not change for grammatical gender.

Traditionally, kelner means waiter, usually male. A female waiter may be called kelnerin.

However, in everyday use, people are not always strict about this, and usage can vary. If you are learning basic Afrikaans, it is enough to recognize:

• kelner = waiter
• kelnerin = waitress

In this sentence, die kelner is most naturally understood as the waiter.

Yes. So laat means so late.

• laat = late
• so laat = so late

This matches English very closely:

• Die kelner is so laat. = The waiter is so late.

In this sentence, so works as an intensifier, just like English so.

Sometimes, yes, but hoekom is the normal everyday word for why in Afrikaans.

For most learners, hoekom is the one to use first.

So:

• Sy wonder hoekom die kelner so laat is. = natural everyday Afrikaans

You may encounter waarom in more formal, literary, or Dutch-influenced contexts, but hoekom is the most common choice in ordinary speech.

English keeps the verb earlier:

• why the waiter is so late

Afrikaans pushes the verb to the end in this kind of clause:

• hoekom die kelner so laat is

That is a standard Afrikaans pattern in subordinate clauses. So even though the meaning matches English closely, the structure is different.

A good way to remember it is:

• Main clause: verb usually comes early
• Subordinate clause: verb often goes to the end

As a direct question, the word order changes:

• Hoekom is die kelner so laat? = Why is the waiter so late?

Notice the difference:

• Direct question: Hoekom is die kelner so laat?
• Indirect question / subordinate clause: ... hoekom die kelner so laat is.

So the same idea has different word order depending on whether it is a direct question or part of a larger sentence.

Afrikaans does not use a helper verb like English does in this kind of sentence.

English says:

• She wonders why the waiter is so late.

In questions, English often uses do/does/did, but Afrikaans usually does not. Instead, Afrikaans relies more on word order.

For example:

• Why is the waiter so late? = Hoekom is die kelner so laat?

No extra word is needed for does.

The sentence has two parts:

1. Sy wonder
2. hoekom die kelner so laat is

The first is the main clause: She wonders.

The second is the clause telling us what she wonders: why the waiter is so late.

The word hoekom is a useful signal that a new clause is starting. Once you see hoekom, you can expect subordinate-clause word order, including the verb is at the end.

Almost, but not perfectly.

A word-for-word breakdown is:

• Sy = she
• wonder = wonders
• hoekom = why
• die = the
• kelner = waiter
• so = so
• laat = late
• is = is

That gives:

• She wonders why the waiter so late is

This shows the Afrikaans structure, but natural English is:

• She wonders why the waiter is so late

So word-for-word translation is useful for understanding grammar, but not always for producing natural English.