Ek skil ook 'n aartappel voordat ek die oond oopmaak.

In Afrikaans, ook often comes right after the verb when it means also / too for the whole action:

• Ek skil ook 'n aartappel = I also peel a potato

This is very natural word order in Afrikaans.
If you move ook, the emphasis can shift slightly.

For example:

• Ek skil ook 'n aartappel = I also peel a potato
• Ek skil 'n aartappel ook = less neutral, more like I peel a potato too

So in your sentence, skil ook is the most straightforward placement.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a / an.

• 'n aartappel = a potato

It is always written in lowercase, even at the beginning of a sentence in normal spelling conventions. If a sentence starts with it, the next word is capitalized instead:

• 'n Aartappel is warm.

The apostrophe is simply part of the spelling of the word. It is not optional.

Aartappel is just the normal Afrikaans word for potato. It comes from older Dutch usage and literally looks like earth-apple:

• aard / aart = earth
• appel = apple

You do not need to analyze it every time, though. Just learn aartappel as the standard word for potato.

Because voordat introduces a new clause:

• voordat ek die oond oopmaak = before I open the oven

In English, we also usually repeat the subject:

• before I open the oven

So Afrikaans does the same thing. The second ek is necessary because it is the subject of the second verb, oopmaak.

This is a very common question. Afrikaans usually keeps a much more straightforward word order than Dutch or German.

So you get:

• voordat ek die oond oopmaak

rather than a Dutch-style pattern with the verb fully pushed to the end.

Afrikaans often prefers the normal subject + object + verb feel in subordinate clauses, especially in modern everyday language. That is one reason many learners find Afrikaans syntax simpler than Dutch.

Yes. Oopmaak is the verb to open, literally make open.

As a dictionary form, it is written as one word:

• oopmaak = to open

But in some sentence structures, the two parts separate:

• Ek maak die oond oop. = I open the oven.
• ... voordat ek die oond oopmaak. = ... before I open the oven.

So:

• main clause: often separated → maak ... oop
• after words like om te, in infinitives, and in some subordinate structures: often together → oopmaak

That separable-verb behavior is very typical in Afrikaans.

Because die is the definite article (the) and 'n is the indefinite article (a / an).

• 'n aartappel = a potato
• die oond = the oven

So the sentence is talking about:

• some potato, not a specific one already identified
• a specific oven, or at least the oven in the context

Yes. Oond is the standard Afrikaans word for oven.

• die oond = the oven

A useful related word is:

• stoof = stove / cooker

Depending on context, English oven and stove are not always translated the same way, so it is worth learning oond specifically as oven.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present tense where English might use present or future depending on context.

So:

• Ek skil ook 'n aartappel voordat ek die oond oopmaak.

can describe a habitual action, a sequence of actions, or even something you are about to do, depending on context.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. If needed, time words or context make the timing clear.

Yes, very often you can.

• voor ek die oond oopmaak
• voordat ek die oond oopmaak

Both can mean before I open the oven.

In many situations, voor is more common in everyday speech, while voordat can sound a bit more explicit or formal. But both are standard.

'n is pronounced very weakly, like a schwa sound, similar to the unstressed a in English about.

So:

• 'n aartappel

is not pronounced with a strong n sound like English an. The article is usually very light and unstressed.

Also, in speech, Afrikaans speakers often link it closely to the following word.

Because English and Afrikaans structure this differently.

In English:

• before I open the oven

In Afrikaans:

• voordat ek die oond oopmaak

Afrikaans does not need an extra word corresponding to English to here. The finite verb oopmaak already means open in the clause.

You only use te with infinitives in certain structures, for example:

• Ek probeer die oond oopmaak. = I try to open the oven.
• Ek wil die oond oopmaak. = I want to open the oven.

But after voordat, you use a full clause, not a te-infinitive.

Yes. You can front the subordinate clause:

• Voordat ek die oond oopmaak, skil ek ook 'n aartappel.

That is perfectly natural.

Notice what happens in the main clause after the fronted clause: the verb comes earlier, as is normal in Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• ..., skil ek ook 'n aartappel

So this is a useful word-order pattern to learn:

• subordinate clause first
• then main clause with the verb before the subject if needed by the structure

A helpful breakdown is:

• Ek = subject
• skil = verb
• ook = also
• 'n aartappel = object
• voordat ek die oond oopmaak = time clause

So the whole structure is:

subject + verb + also + object + before-clause

That makes it a good example of how Afrikaans often keeps a fairly clear, readable word order.