Die wasbak is vol skottelgoed, maar my suster sal dit vanaand afdroog.

Yes. Wasbak means sink or washbasin, depending on context. In this sentence, it clearly means the kitchen sink.

It is made up of:

• was = wash
• bak = bowl / basin / container

So it is very transparent once you know the parts.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

So:

• die wasbak = the sink

Unlike English, Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

So die can mean both the sink and the sinks, depending on context.

In Afrikaans, vol often works directly with a noun, without needing a separate word like English of.

So:

• vol skottelgoed = full of dishes

Literally it looks more like:

• full dishes

But the real meaning is full of dishes.

This is normal Afrikaans usage:

• Die glas is vol water = The glass is full of water
• Die kamer is vol mense = The room is full of people

Skottelgoed means dishes, crockery, or sometimes dirty dishes / washing-up, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means the dishes in the sink.

The word is built from:

• skottel = dish / plate
• goed = goods / stuff

So skottelgoed is a collective noun, like dishware or the dishes.

Even though the meaning in English is plural-like (dishes), skottelgoed is often treated as a collective or mass noun in Afrikaans.

That is why you do not need a plural ending here.

Compare the idea in English:

• furniture is grammatically singular, even though it refers to many items
• luggage is similar

So skottelgoed behaves more like dishware or the washing-up than like a normal countable plural noun.

Maar means but.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• Die wasbak is vol skottelgoed = The sink is full of dishes
• maar my suster sal dit vanaand afdroog = but my sister will dry it tonight

So it is just the normal coordinating conjunction but.

In Afrikaans, my means my and stays the same before a noun.

So:

• my suster = my sister
• my broer = my brother
• my huis = my house

You do not change my for gender or number.

Sal is the future marker, usually meaning will.

So:

• my suster sal dit afdroog = my sister will dry it

Afrikaans often uses the present tense for future meaning when the context is clear, but sal makes the future explicit.

For example:

• My suster droog dit vanaand af = My sister is drying / will dry it tonight
• My suster sal dit vanaand afdroog = My sister will dry it tonight

This is normal Afrikaans word order.

In a main clause with a helping verb like sal, the finite verb goes in the second position, and the main verb goes to the end.

So:

• my suster sal dit vanaand afdroog

Breakdown:

• my suster = subject
• sal = finite verb / future marker
• dit = object
• vanaand = time expression
• afdroog = main verb at the end

This is similar to Dutch and German word order.

Great question. Afdroog is a separable verb:

• af = off / away
• droog = dry

When the verb is used on its own in a normal main clause, it often splits:

• My suster droog dit vanaand af. = My sister dries it tonight / will dry it tonight.

But when it comes after another verb like sal, it stays together at the end:

• My suster sal dit vanaand afdroog.

So both patterns are normal:

• droog ... af
• sal ... afdroog

Here afdroog means to dry the dishes or to wipe them dry after washing.

Depending on context, afdroog can mean:

• to dry something off
• to towel-dry
• to dry dishes after washing

In this sentence, because the sink is full of dishes, it most naturally means dry the dishes.

Dit means it, and here it refers to the skottelgoed.

Even though English often says them for dishes, Afrikaans can use dit because skottelgoed is being treated as a collective mass noun.

So the idea is:

• the dishware / the dishes → it

This is one of those places where Afrikaans and English do not match word-for-word.

Because hulle means they / them, and skottelgoed is not being treated as an ordinary plural noun here.

Since skottelgoed is a collective noun, dit is the natural pronoun.

So:

• skottelgoed → dit
• a normal plural noun like borde (plates) would more naturally take hulle as a pronoun in some contexts

In this sentence, dit is the correct choice.

Vanaand means tonight.

It is a time expression, and in Afrikaans these often come in the middle part of the clause, before the final main verb if there is one.

So:

• my suster sal dit vanaand afdroog

That placement is very natural:

• subject
• finite verb
• object
• time
• final verb

You could move time expressions around for emphasis, but this version is the most neutral.

Is is the present tense of wees (to be).

So:

• Die wasbak is vol skottelgoed = The sink is full of dishes

This is just a normal linking verb, exactly like English is.

Usually, no. Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in this respect.

For most verbs, the form stays the same regardless of the subject:

• Ek droog
• Jy droog
• Hy droog
• Ons droog

Likewise with sal:

• Ek sal
• Sy sal
• Hulle sal

So you do not have to learn a different verb ending for he/she/it the way you do in English.

Yes, often it could.

For example:

• Die wasbak is vol skottelgoed, maar my suster droog dit vanaand af.

That can still mean The sink is full of dishes, but my sister is drying / will dry it tonight, depending on context.

Using sal simply makes the future meaning more explicit:

• sal = definitely will

So both are possible, but the version with sal is clearer if you want to emphasize the future.

Partly yes, partly no.

The first clause is very similar to English:

• Die wasbak is vol skottelgoed
• The sink is full of dishes

But the second clause shows a very common Afrikaans pattern that differs from English:

• the helping verb sal comes early
• the main verb afdroog goes to the end

So the sentence is a good example of how Afrikaans can look English-like in vocabulary, but still follow its own Germanic word-order rules.