By die apteek vra die man vir u nie net of u koors het nie, maar ook watter medisyne u reeds probeer het.

By die apteek means at the pharmacy in this context. Afrikaans often starts a sentence with a place or time phrase to set the scene first.

That fronted phrase affects word order, which is why the next words are vra die man. So the beginning is not just vocabulary; it also triggers the normal Afrikaans main-clause pattern.

Afrikaans is a verb-second language in main clauses. That means the finite verb normally comes in the second position, no matter what comes first.

Here the first position is taken by By die apteek, so the verb vra must come next:

• Die man vra ... = neutral order
• By die apteek vra die man ... = the place phrase is put first

So die man moves after the verb.

This is something learners often notice. In everyday Afrikaans, speakers often use vir before a person, especially a pronoun, after verbs like vra.

So vra vir u can mean ask you.

A useful note:

• In more formal or stricter grammar, some teachers prefer vra u for ask you
• and use vra vir mainly for ask for

But in normal spoken Afrikaans, vra vir u is very common and natural.

U is the polite or formal form of you in Afrikaans.

So:

• jy / jou = informal singular
• u = formal singular, and sometimes formal plural as well

Another thing to notice is that u can be used as both subject and object:

• vir u = object
• u koors het = subject
• u reeds probeer het = subject

English changes word order but not the form you; Afrikaans does something similar here with u.

This is the Afrikaans way to say not only ... but also.

The pattern is:

nie net ... nie, maar ook ...

In your sentence:

• nie net of u koors het nie = not only whether you have a fever
• maar ook watter medisyne u reeds probeer het = but also which medicine/medicines you have already tried

Even though it contains nie ... nie, the whole idea is not simple negation. It is a fixed comparison structure: not only X, but also Y.

Because of here introduces an indirect yes/no question: whether / if.

In Afrikaans, indirect questions are subordinate clauses, and subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

Compare:

• Direct question: Het u koors?
• Indirect question: ... of u koors het

So het moves to the end because the clause is introduced by of.

Afrikaans normally says koors hê for to have a fever. No article is needed before koors.

So:

• u koors het = you have a fever

This is just the normal idiomatic pattern. Languages often differ here. English says a fever, but Afrikaans does not need the equivalent of a in this expression.

Watter means which and is used before a noun when you are identifying or selecting from possibilities.

So:

• watter medisyne = which medicine / which medicines

By contrast, wat more often means what.

So watter medisyne is the standard choice here because the man is asking the person to specify which medication they have tried.

Because this is an indirect question, not a direct one.

Compare:

• Direct question: Watter medisyne het u reeds probeer?
• Indirect question: ... watter medisyne u reeds probeer het

In indirect questions in Afrikaans, the finite verb goes to the end, just like in other subordinate clauses. That is why het appears at the end.

Because probeer is one of the Afrikaans verbs that normally do not take ge- in the past participle.

A very important rule is:

• Many verbs ending in -eer do not add ge-

So:

• probeer → het probeer
• studeer → het studeer
• waardeer → het waardeer

That is why u reeds probeer het is correct, not u reeds geprobeer het.

Reeds means already.

In many sentences, reeds and al can both express that idea:

• u reeds probeer het
• u al probeer het

The difference is mostly one of style:

• reeds sounds a bit more formal or written
• al is very common in everyday speech

So reeds here gives the sentence a slightly more formal tone.

They are related, but not exactly the same.

• In of u koors het, het means have in the ordinary sense: have a fever
• In u reeds probeer het, het is an auxiliary used to form the perfect tense: have tried

So the same word het appears twice, but with two different grammatical roles:

• once as a main verb
• once as a helping verb