Die dokter sê die medisyne sal help as die hoes nie ophou nie.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the. Unlike English, Afrikaans uses the same form for:

• singular and plural
• all genders

So in this sentence:

• die dokter = the doctor
• die medisyne = the medicine / the medication
• die hoes = the cough

Sê means say or says.

In this sentence, Die dokter sê means The doctor says.

The ê is just the correct spelling of the word. It helps show the vowel sound and also distinguishes it from other forms like se. When learning Afrikaans, it is important to treat sê as its own word, with the accent included.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject the way English verbs sometimes do.

So you get:

• ek sê = I say
• jy sê = you say
• die dokter sê = the doctor says
• hulle sê = they say

English adds -s in he says, but Afrikaans normally keeps the verb the same.

Here die medisyne most likely means the medicine or the medication.

Even though the form may look plural to an English speaker, in context it can refer to medicine in a general or collective sense. In this sentence, it is probably talking about a specific treatment the doctor is referring to.

Sal is the usual Afrikaans future marker, similar to will.

So:

• sal help = will help

The structure is straightforward:

• sal = will
• help = help

So die medisyne sal help means the medicine will help.

Here as means if.

So:

• as die hoes nie ophou nie = if the cough does not stop

This is a very common Afrikaans use of as in conditional sentences.

Afrikaans normally uses a double negative structure:

nie ... nie

That is standard grammar, not an extra-strong negative.

So:

• Die hoes hou nie op nie. = The cough does not stop.
• as die hoes nie ophou nie = if the cough does not stop

In this sentence, the first nie marks the negation, and the second nie closes the negative clause.

Ophou is a separable verb.

In a main clause, it often splits:

• Die hoes hou nie op nie. = The cough does not stop.

But in a subordinate clause, the verb usually goes to the end and the separable parts stay together:

• as die hoes nie ophou nie

So both forms belong to the same verb:

• hou op in a main clause
• ophou in a subordinate clause or infinitive form

Because as introduces a subordinate clause.

In Afrikaans, subordinate clauses usually push the verb toward the end. That is why the clause is:

• as die hoes nie ophou nie

rather than using a more English-like word order.

This is a very important Afrikaans pattern to get used to.

Here hoes is a noun, meaning cough.

You can tell because it is preceded by die:

• die hoes = the cough

Afrikaans also has hoes as a verb meaning to cough, so context matters. In this sentence, it is clearly the noun.

Yes. You can say:

• Die dokter sê die medisyne sal help ...
• Die dokter sê dat die medisyne sal help ...

Both are natural. The version without dat is very common in everyday Afrikaans, just like English often leaves out that in sentences such as The doctor says the medicine will help.