Ek kies ’n skoon bord, want die ander bord is nat.

’n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, the equivalent of English a/an.

A few important points:

• It is usually pronounced as a very weak uh sound.
• The n is normally not pronounced as a full English n.
• So ’n skoon bord sounds roughly like uh skoon bort.

It is one of the most common little words in Afrikaans.

Afrikaans uses:

• ’n = a/an
• die = the

So the first plate is introduced as a clean plate: it is not being identified as a specific plate yet.

Then die ander bord means the other plate, which is definite and specific. The speaker has a particular other plate in mind.

So the contrast is:

• ’n skoon bord = a clean plate
• die ander bord = the other plate

It can mean different things depending on context, including plate, dish, board, or even sign in some situations.

In this sentence, plate is clearly the right meaning because:

• one plate is clean
• the other plate is wet
• someone is choosing between them

That is a very natural kitchen or dining context, so bord here means plate.

Kies means choose or select.

It suggests there is a choice between options. That fits this sentence well, because the speaker is choosing one plate instead of another.

If you wanted to emphasize physically taking the plate, Afrikaans might also use words like:

• vat = take
• neem = take

But kies is a good choice here because the reason for the choice is immediately given: the other plate is wet.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change much for different persons the way they do in some other languages.

For example:

• ek kies = I choose
• jy kies = you choose
• hy kies = he chooses
• ons kies = we choose

Because the verb form often stays the same, the subject pronoun is important. So you normally say ek clearly.

Ander means other.

So:

• die ander bord = the other plate
• ’n ander bord = another plate

That is a useful distinction:

• die ander ... points to the remaining one out of a known set
• ’n ander ... means some other one, another one

In this sentence, die ander bord means the specific other plate being compared with the clean one.

Yes. In Afrikaans, want means because.

This is a very common thing for English speakers to notice, because it looks identical to the English verb want, but it has a completely different meaning here.

So:

• want in Afrikaans = because
• English want = usually Afrikaans wil

For example:

• Ek wil water hê = I want water

But in your sentence:

• ..., want die ander bord is nat = ..., because the other plate is wet

Because want is a coordinating conjunction in Afrikaans.

After want, the clause keeps normal main-clause word order:

• die ander bord is nat

The finite verb is does not move to the end.

This is different from some other conjunctions, especially omdat.

So compare:

• ... want die ander bord is nat
• ... omdat die ander bord nat is

That difference is very important in Afrikaans word order.

Yes, you could.

A version with omdat would be:

• Ek kies ’n skoon bord, omdat die ander bord nat is.

That is also grammatical and natural.

The main difference for a learner is word order:

• after want: die ander bord is nat
• after omdat: die ander bord nat is

So omdat sends the verb to the end of the clause, while want does not.

Afrikaans often repeats the noun quite naturally, especially when it keeps the sentence clear.

So die ander bord is perfectly normal.

You could also say die ander een if the context is obvious, but repeating bord is often clearer and very common in everyday speech.

So:

• die ander bord = very clear and natural
• die ander een = also possible if everyone already knows you mean a plate

In standard written Afrikaans, a comma is normally used before want when it introduces another clause.

So:

• Ek kies ’n skoon bord, want die ander bord is nat.

That comma is standard punctuation.

English punctuation does not always match Afrikaans exactly, so this is worth noticing.

Because they are being used in two different ways.

• skoon is placed directly before the noun: ’n skoon bord
• nat comes after the linking verb is: die ander bord is nat

This is the same basic pattern as in English:

• a clean plate
• the plate is wet

So:

• before the noun = adjective used directly with the noun
• after is = adjective used as the description of the subject

A rough English-style pronunciation would be:

Ek kies uh skoon bort, vahnt dee ahn-der bort is naht.

A few helpful notes:

• Ek sounds a bit like eck
• kies sounds roughly like kees
• skoon has a long oo-type sound
• bord ends with a t-like sound in normal pronunciation
• die here sounds like dee
• nat has a short a

This is only an approximation, but it is enough to help a beginner say the sentence aloud.