Die hond wat onder die tafel slaap, is myne.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

In this sentence it appears with two different nouns:

• die hond = the dog
• die tafel = the table

A helpful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and die can also be used with plural nouns. So you do not have to learn separate forms like de/het in Dutch or der/die/das in German.

Here, wat introduces a relative clause. It is the word that links die hond to the extra information about the dog:

• die hond wat onder die tafel slaap
• literally: the dog that is sleeping under the table

In English, you might use that, which, or sometimes who, depending on the noun. In Afrikaans, wat is very common for this job.

So in this sentence, wat means something like:

• that
• which
• sometimes, in natural English, simply part of the dog sleeping under the table

Afrikaans usually uses wat as the relative pronoun in everyday sentences, even where English might use who for people or animals.

So Afrikaans often prefers:

• Die man wat daar staan ... = The man who is standing there ...
• Die hond wat onder die tafel slaap ... = The dog that is sleeping under the table ...

A learner coming from English may expect who-type words for living beings, but Afrikaans generally uses wat much more broadly.

Because wat onder die tafel slaap is a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses normally send the verb to the end.

Compare:

• Die hond slaap onder die tafel.
  Main clause: the verb slaap comes earlier.

• die hond wat onder die tafel slaap
  Relative/subordinate clause: slaap moves to the end.

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

A simple rule to remember:

• main clause: verb usually in second position
• subordinate clause: verb usually at the end

Normally, no. In standard Afrikaans, once you are inside the relative clause, the verb should stay at the end:

• correct: wat onder die tafel slaap
• not standard here: wat slaap onder die tafel

English speakers often make this mistake because English keeps normal word order in many relative clauses:

• the dog that sleeps under the table

Afrikaans does not do that here; it prefers the subordinate-clause pattern.

The comma marks the end of the inserted subordinate clause:

• Die hond
  • wat onder die tafel slaap
    • is myne.

So the sentence is built like this:

1. Die hond = the subject noun
2. wat onder die tafel slaap = extra identifying information about the dog
3. is myne = the main statement

Afrikaans uses commas with subordinate clauses more regularly than English does. So even if English might write this without a comma, Afrikaans often includes one.

Because my and myne do different jobs.

• my = my, used before a noun

  • my hond = my dog

• myne = mine, used on its own

  • Die hond is myne. = The dog is mine.

So in your sentence, there is no noun after the possessive word. That is why Afrikaans uses myne, not my.

A useful comparison:

• Dit is my tafel. = It is my table.
• Die tafel is myne. = The table is mine.

No. Afrikaans does not work like languages that force you to match possessives or articles to grammatical gender.

In this sentence:

• die does not show masculine or feminine gender
• myne does not tell you whether the dog is male or female

So Die hond ... is myne simply means the dog belongs to me. The form is not changing to match a gender category.

It is a prepositional phrase:

• onder = preposition
• die tafel = noun phrase

Together:

• onder die tafel = under the table

This part tells you where the dog is sleeping.

English speakers usually find this easy because the structure is very similar to English:

• under the table
• onder die tafel

Also, Afrikaans nouns do not change form after prepositions the way they do in some other languages.

Usually no, not in a sentence like this.

In English, you can sometimes drop that:

• the book (that) I bought

But in your Afrikaans sentence, wat is essential because it introduces the relative clause and connects it clearly to die hond.

So you say:

• Die hond wat onder die tafel slaap, is myne.

not:

• Die hond onder die tafel slaap, is myne.
  This would be confusing or ungrammatical in standard Afrikaans.

The core sentence is:

• Die hond is myne. = The dog is mine.

Then Afrikaans inserts the relative clause to specify which dog:

• wat onder die tafel slaap = that is sleeping under the table

So the full sentence is:

• Die hond
  • wat onder die tafel slaap
    • is myne

This is a useful way to analyze long Afrikaans sentences: first find the simple main clause, then add the descriptive parts back in.