Sonder 'n handtekening kan die kantoor nie die dokument gebruik nie.

Because Afrikaans main clauses normally put the finite verb in the second position.

Here, the sentence starts with the fronted phrase Sonder 'n handtekening, so the finite verb kan has to come next. After that comes the subject die kantoor.

Compare:

• Die kantoor kan nie die dokument gebruik nie.
• Sonder 'n handtekening kan die kantoor nie die dokument gebruik nie.

Both are correct, but the second one puts extra focus on the condition without a signature.

Because kan is a modal verb, and in Afrikaans the main verb usually appears later in the clause, often at the end.

So:

• kan = finite modal verb
• gebruik = main verb in the infinitive form

This is very common in Afrikaans:

• Ek kan dit doen.
• Sy wil huis toe gaan.
• Ons moet nou werk.

So kan ... gebruik works like can ... use.

Because after a modal verb like kan, Afrikaans uses the bare infinitive, not te.

So you say:

• kan gebruik
• moet werk
• wil gaan

Not:

• kan te gebruik

The word te is used in other structures, but not after modal verbs like kan, moet, wil, mag, or sal.

Because standard Afrikaans usually uses double negation.

In a sentence like this, you normally get a nie ... nie frame:

• first nie introduces the negation
• second nie closes the clause

So:

• kan die kantoor nie die dokument gebruik nie

corresponds to English cannot use the document.

It is best to think of nie ... nie as one pattern, rather than translating each nie separately.

Because sonder 'n handtekening only gives the condition without a signature. It does not by itself negate the main clause.

The main statement being made is that the office cannot use the document, and that is why Afrikaans still uses nie ... nie.

Compare the difference:

• Sonder 'n handtekening kan die kantoor die dokument gebruik.
  Without a signature, the office can use the document.

• Sonder 'n handtekening kan die kantoor nie die dokument gebruik nie.
  Without a signature, the office cannot use the document.

So sonder and nie ... nie are doing different jobs.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• 'n handtekening = a signature

It is usually pronounced as a very weak vowel sound, like the a in about or the last sound in sofa.

A few useful things to remember:

• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It is not stressed
• It is normally not capitalized, even if it starts a sentence in ordinary writing conventions

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and die is used very widely for definite nouns. So here:

• die kantoor = the office
• die dokument = the document

For an English speaker, this is nice and simple: you do not have to learn separate forms like masculine, feminine, or neuter definite articles.

Using 'n makes it mean without a signature, referring to one unspecified signature.

That is the most natural way to express the idea here. It matches the English sense very closely.

In some contexts, Afrikaans can omit the article after certain prepositions, but in this sentence sonder 'n handtekening is the normal and straightforward form for learners to use.

Yes. Afrikaans very often forms nouns by combining smaller words into one written word.

So handtekening is a compound noun meaning signature.

This is a very common feature of Afrikaans and other Germanic languages. English often writes similar ideas as separate words, but Afrikaans often joins them into one word.

Here kantoor most likely means the office in the sense of an office, department, or administrative body.

So die kantoor does not have to mean only the physical room. It can also mean the office as an institution or the people acting in an official capacity.

In this sentence, that broader meaning is probably intended: the office or department cannot use the document.

Yes. That is also a natural sentence.

It means the same thing overall, but the focus is a little different:

• Sonder 'n handtekening kan die kantoor nie die dokument gebruik nie.
  This emphasizes the condition first.

• Die kantoor kan nie die dokument sonder 'n handtekening gebruik nie.
  This starts more neutrally with the subject.

So both are good Afrikaans, and the difference is mostly about emphasis and information flow.