Ek haal die pakkie by die winkel voordat ek huis toe gaan.

Here haal means pick up, collect, or fetch.

Afrikaans haal is a very flexible verb. Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• fetch
• get
• collect
• pick up
• sometimes even achieve or reach

In Ek haal die pakkie by die winkel, the idea is I’m collecting/picking up the package from the shop.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die pakkie = the package/parcel
• die winkel = the shop/store

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender. Die is used very widely for singular and plural definite nouns.

Pakkie usually means package, parcel, or small packet.

It looks like a diminutive form, and that is because it is one:

• pak = pack / packet / bundle
• pakkie = little pack / packet / parcel

In everyday Afrikaans, though, pakkie is a completely normal word for a parcel or package, even if the speaker is not especially emphasizing small size.

Because by die winkel here indicates the place where the package is being collected from/at.

• by die winkel = at the shop / from the shop
• na die winkel = to the shop

If you said Ek gaan na die winkel, that means I am going to the shop.
But Ek haal die pakkie by die winkel means I collect the package at/from the shop.

So by fits the idea of the package being obtained there.

Voordat means before or before that.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• voordat ek huis toe gaan = before I go home

It is very common when one action happens earlier than another:

• Ek eet voordat ek werk. = I eat before I work.
• Sy bel voordat sy vertrek. = She calls before she leaves.

So in your sentence, the package is picked up first, and going home happens after that.

Because voordat introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses typically send the conjugated verb to the end.

Compare:

• Main clause: Ek gaan huis toe.
• Subordinate clause: ... voordat ek huis toe gaan.

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

So:

• Ek haal die pakkie by die winkel = normal main clause
• voordat ek huis toe gaan = subordinate clause, verb at the end

Huis toe means home in the sense of toward home or homeward.

Literally:

• huis = house/home
• toe = a directional word meaning something like towards

So:

• Ek gaan huis toe = I am going home

This is a fixed, very common expression in Afrikaans.

Because huis toe is an idiomatic expression, just like English go home does not say go to the home.

Afrikaans often leaves out the article in expressions of movement toward home:

• Ek gaan huis toe. = I’m going home.

You would not normally say na die huis if you just mean home in the general everyday sense.
Na die huis would sound more like to the house, referring to a specific building.

Good question: Afrikaans toe can have different uses.

In huis toe, toe is a directional particle, meaning toward.

But toe can also mean things like then, when, or refer to the past in other contexts.

So the meaning depends on the sentence.

Here:

• huis toe = toward home / homeward

Not:

• then house
• or any time-related meaning

Usually yes. Winkel means shop or store.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• shop
• store

So by die winkel could be understood as:

• at the shop
• at the store

Both are natural translations.

Because Afrikaans main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern.

In a simple statement, the finite verb comes early:

• Ek haal die pakkie...

Here the subject Ek is first, and the finite verb haal comes right after it.

That is normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans.

Then the subordinate clause after voordat follows a different pattern:

• voordat ek huis toe gaan

So this sentence shows two different word-order systems at once:

• main clause: verb near the front
• subordinate clause: verb at the end

In many contexts, yes, Afrikaans speakers may say voor ek huis toe gaan in informal speech, and it can sound natural.

However, voordat is very standard and clearly means before as a conjunction introducing a clause.

So for learners, voordat ek huis toe gaan is a very safe and correct structure to use.

Usually, yes. Haal often suggests that something is there already and you go get it or collect it.

So this sentence naturally gives the sense:

• the package is at the shop
• the speaker will collect it
• then the speaker will go home

That is why pick up or collect is such a good translation here.

Yes. Depending on context, pakkie can also mean a packet of something, not only a mailed parcel.

For example, it could refer to:

• a packet of cigarettes
• a small package
• a wrapped item
• a parcel for collection

In this sentence, because of haal and by die winkel, learners will usually understand it as a package/parcel being picked up from a shop.

Yes. If the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause that follows shows inversion.

For example:

• Voordat ek huis toe gaan, haal ek die pakkie by die winkel.

Notice that after the fronted clause, the verb comes before the subject in the main clause:

• haal ek
• not ek haal

That is normal Afrikaans word order after something has been placed first in the sentence.