Sy glo dat haar lys kort is, maar sy vergeet altyd iets by die supermark.

Because dat introduces a subordinate clause in Afrikaans, and in subordinate clauses the finite verb usually goes to the end.

So:

• Main clause: Haar lys is kort. = Her list is short.
• After dat: Sy glo dat haar lys kort is. = She believes that her list is short.

This is very similar to Dutch and different from normal English word order.

They both refer to she/her, but they do different jobs.

• sy = she

  • Sy glo ...
  • ... maar sy vergeet ...

• haar = her

  • haar lys = her list

So sy is the subject form, while haar is the possessive/object form.

Glo mainly means believe.

In this sentence, Sy glo dat ... is literally She believes that ...

Depending on context, English might sometimes translate it more naturally as she thinks that ..., but the core meaning of glo is still believe rather than think.

Yes. Lys means list, and it is closely related to English list.

In this sentence:

• haar lys = her list

Afrikaans spelling is just a bit different.

Here kort means short in the sense of not long / having few items.

So haar lys kort is means her shopping list is short, not physically small in some unusual way.

Afrikaans kort can also mean short in time or length depending on context, just like English.

That is normal Afrikaans word order.

• altyd = always
• iets = something

So:

• sy vergeet altyd iets = she always forgets something

Afrikaans often places adverbs like altyd before the object. English does something similar here too.

Iets means something.

It is an indefinite pronoun, used when you do not specify what the thing is.

Examples:

• Ek sien iets. = I see something.
• Sy vergeet altyd iets. = She always forgets something.

Yes. In this sentence, by means at.

• by die supermark = at the supermarket

Afrikaans by is often used where English uses at or sometimes with/by, depending on context.

Here the idea is that she forgets something at the supermarket.

Not naturally in this sentence.

By die supermark most naturally means at the supermarket or while at the supermarket.

If you wanted to say from the supermarket, Afrikaans would usually use a different preposition, such as van:

• van die supermark = from the supermarket

Maar means but.

It links two contrasting ideas:

• Sy glo dat haar lys kort is = She believes that her list is short
• maar sy vergeet altyd iets by die supermark = but she always forgets something at the supermarket

So maar introduces the contrast.

Yes, supermark is a normal Afrikaans word for supermarket.

It looks similar because Afrikaans and English often share or borrow similar vocabulary, especially for modern everyday words. Afrikaans often uses a slightly shorter or simplified spelling.

It would be:

• Haar lys is kort. = Her list is short.

Then the full sentence could be rewritten as:

• Sy glo haar lys is kort, maar sy vergeet altyd iets by die supermark.

However, Sy glo dat haar lys kort is ... is very standard and often clearer for learners because it shows the subordinate clause structure more explicitly.

Sy is usually pronounced roughly like say in English, but with an Afrikaans sound quality.

A few quick pronunciation hints for the whole sentence:

• Sy ≈ say
• glo ≈ like glaw/glow with a rounded vowel
• haar ≈ similar to har with a long vowel
• lys ≈ roughly like lace, but not exactly
• kort ≈ like court without English r-coloring
• altyd ≈ all-tate / all-tide depending on accent
• iets ≈ eets
• supermark ≈ very close to supermarket, but without the final -et

Exact pronunciation varies by accent, but those approximations can help.

Yes.

The present-tense verbs are:

• glo = believes
• is = is
• vergeet = forgets

Afrikaans verbs do not change as much as English verbs do, so the same verb form is used with different subjects much more often.

For example:

• Ek glo = I believe
• Sy glo = she believes
• Ons glo = we believe

The verb itself usually stays the same.