Sy geniet die kos, al is die tafel naby die deur.

In Afrikaans, sy can mean either she or his, depending on how it is used.

Here it means she because it is the subject pronoun at the start of the sentence:

• Sy geniet die kos = She enjoys the food

If it meant his, it would normally come before a noun:

• sy tafel = his table
• sy kos = his food

The capital S is only there because it starts the sentence.

Because geniet is a direct transitive verb in Afrikaans. It takes its object directly, just like enjoy in English.

So you say:

• Sy geniet die kos = She enjoys the food
• Ek geniet die musiek = I enjoy the music

You normally do not add a preposition such as van here.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So in this sentence:

• die kos = the food
• die tafel = the table
• die deur = the door

A very useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike some other languages, the article does not change.

Here al is means although, even though, or although it is the case that.

So:

• al is die tafel naby die deur = although the table is near the door

It introduces a contrast with the main clause:

• she enjoys the food
• despite the table being near the door

Also, do not confuse this al with other uses of al, such as already in some contexts.

This is a very common learner question.

With al used in this concessive sense, Afrikaans usually puts the finite verb immediately after al:

• al is dit laat = although it is late
• al reën dit = although it is raining

So:

• al is die tafel naby die deur is correct

This pattern is different from conjunctions like omdat or dat, where the verb often moves to the end.

A useful comparison:

• al is die tafel naby die deur
• alhoewel die tafel naby die deur is

Both can mean although the table is near the door, but the word order is different.

Here naby means near or close to.

In this sentence it works like a preposition-like word followed by a noun phrase:

• naby die deur = near the door

You can also see it in similar phrases:

• naby die huis = near the house
• naby die skool = near the school

It can also appear in sentences like:

• Die winkel is naby = The shop is nearby

So depending on the sentence, it can behave a bit like near or nearby in English.

No. Deur can mean different things in Afrikaans.

Most commonly:

• deur as a noun = door
• deur as a preposition = through or sometimes by

In this sentence it clearly means door because it is part of the noun phrase:

• die deur = the door

So the article die helps show that deur is a noun here.

Kos can be more than one thing in Afrikaans.

Here it is a noun meaning food:

• die kos = the food

But kos can also be a verb meaning to cost:

• Dit kos baie geld = It costs a lot of money

In your sentence, it must be the noun food, because it follows die and is the object of geniet.

The comma separates the main clause from the contrast clause.

Structure of the sentence:

• Sy geniet die kos = main clause
• al is die tafel naby die deur = concessive clause

Using a comma here is normal Afrikaans punctuation, especially when a clause like this is added after the main statement.