Ek maak my skoenveters vas voordat ek skool toe loop.

Because vasmaak is a separable verb in Afrikaans. In a main clause, the conjugated verb part goes into the usual verb position, and the separable part moves to the end.

So:

• dictionary form: vasmaak = to tie / fasten
• in the sentence: Ek maak my skoenveters vas

This works much like separable verbs in Dutch and German.

Yes, historically that is the literal idea, and it helps explain the structure.

• maak = make
• vas = fast / firm / tight

But as a unit, vasmaak means to fasten, and with shoelaces it naturally means to tie.

So Ek maak my skoenveters vas is best understood as I tie my shoelaces, not as a word-for-word English translation.

Because voordat ek skool toe loop is a whole subordinate clause, and that clause needs its own subject.

So the sentence has two clauses:

• Ek maak my skoenveters vas
• voordat ek skool toe loop

In English, we do the same thing:

• I tie my shoelaces before I walk to school.

Each clause has its own I / ek.

Because voordat is a subordinating conjunction. In Afrikaans, subordinating conjunctions usually send the finite verb to the end of the clause.

Compare:

• main clause: Ek loop skool toe.
• subordinate clause: voordat ek skool toe loop

So after voordat, the word order changes.

That is one of the most important word-order patterns in Afrikaans.

Yes. Voordat means before when it introduces a clause.

Examples:

• voordat ek eet = before I eat
• voordat hy kom = before he comes

In your sentence:

• voordat ek skool toe loop = before I walk to school

So it connects the main action and the later action in time.

Here toe means something like toward / to when talking about movement in the direction of a place.

So:

• skool toe loop = walk to school
• huis toe gaan = go home

This is a very common Afrikaans pattern:

• plek + toe = movement toward that place

Examples:

• kerk toe
• werk toe
• stad toe

Because skool toe specifically expresses movement toward school.

• Ek loop skool toe = I walk to school
• na skool usually means after school, not to school

So using na here would change the meaning or sound unnatural.

Afrikaans often leaves out the article with common destination expressions, especially in fixed patterns like skool toe, huis toe, kerk toe, and so on.

So:

• ek gaan skool toe
• sy ry werk toe

This is similar to English in expressions like go to school or go home, where English also often omits an article.

Because my is the normal possessive determiner meaning my.

• my skoenveters = my shoelaces
• jou skoene = your shoes
• sy tas = his bag

Afrikaans does not change my for number here, so it works for both singular and plural nouns:

• my skoen = my shoe
• my skoenveters = my shoelaces

Exactly. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word.

• skoen = shoe
• veters = laces
• skoenveters = shoelaces

This is extremely common in Afrikaans, so learners should get used to seeing long compound words written together.

Here loop means walk.

So:

• ek loop skool toe = I walk to school

But depending on context, loop can sometimes have broader meanings in Afrikaans than English walk. Still, in this sentence, the straightforward meaning is simply walk.

Because Afrikaans often uses the simple present for both:

• something happening now
• a habit or routine

So Ek maak my skoenveters vas voordat ek skool toe loop can mean:

• I tie my shoelaces before I walk to school
• or more generally, I tie my shoelaces before walking to school / before I go to school on foot

The present tense is very flexible in Afrikaans, just as it often is in English.

Yes, in many contexts voor can also mean before, and you may hear both. But voordat is very common when introducing a full clause like this one.

So this sentence with voordat is completely natural:

• Ek maak my skoenveters vas voordat ek skool toe loop.

For a learner, voordat + clause is a very useful and safe pattern to remember.

A helpful breakdown is:

• Ek = subject
• maak = finite verb
• my skoenveters = object
• vas = separable verb particle
• voordat ek skool toe loop = subordinate time clause

So the full pattern is:

Subject + verb + object + separable particle + subordinate clause

That makes the sentence a good example of two important Afrikaans features at once:

1. separable verbs: maak ... vas
2. subordinate clause word order: voordat ek ... loop