Sy sny die tamaties op 'n skoon snyplank.

Here sy means she because it is the subject of the sentence: Sy sny ... = She cuts ...

A useful extra point: sy can also mean his when it comes before a noun, for example sy mes = his knife. So the meaning depends on how it is used in the sentence.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek sny = I cut
• Jy sny = you cut
• Sy sny = she cuts
• Hulle sny = they cut

Unlike English, there is no special -s form for he/she/it.

Yes. Die is the Afrikaans definite article, and it means the.

A key difference from English is that Afrikaans uses the same word die for:

• singular nouns: die tamatie = the tomato
• plural nouns: die tamaties = the tomatoes

So die does not change for number.

The singular is tamatie and the plural is tamaties.

Many Afrikaans nouns ending in -ie form the plural with -s, so:

• tamatie → tamaties

This is a very common plural pattern.

Usually yes. Die tamaties means the tomatoes, so it normally refers to tomatoes that are already known or specific in the context.

Compare:

• Sy sny die tamaties. = She cuts the tomatoes.
• Sy sny tamaties. = She cuts tomatoes / She is cutting tomatoes.
• Sy sny 'n tamatie. = She cuts a tomato.

Here op means on.

So:

• op 'n skoon snyplank = on a clean cutting board

Afrikaans op can sometimes translate as up in other contexts, but in this sentence it is simply the preposition on.

'n is the Afrikaans word for a/an.

A few important things about it:

• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It is normally written in lowercase, even at the beginning of a sentence
• It is usually pronounced very weakly, like a schwa sound, not like the English letter name N

If you want to stress one, Afrikaans usually uses een instead.

Because skoon stays unchanged here.

In Afrikaans, adjectives usually come before the noun, and many common adjectives keep their basic form in that position:

• 'n skoon bord = a clean plate
• 'n skoon tafel = a clean table
• 'n skoon snyplank = a clean cutting board

Some Afrikaans adjectives do take an extra -e in other patterns, but skoon does not here.

Afrikaans very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

So:

• sny = cut / cutting
• plank = board
• snyplank = cutting board

English often writes this kind of idea as two words, but Afrikaans commonly writes it as one compound noun.

The sentence uses normal, straightforward Afrikaans word order:

• Sy = subject
• sny = verb
• die tamaties = object
• op 'n skoon snyplank = prepositional phrase

So the basic pattern is:

Subject + verb + object + place phrase

Yes, the phrase can move for emphasis, but then Afrikaans keeps the verb in second position:

• Op 'n skoon snyplank sny sy die tamaties.

That is still correct, but the original sentence is the most neutral and natural version.