Ek hou altyd 'n skoon sakdoek in my sak.

Yes — hou van means to like/love.

But in this sentence, there is no van, so hou has a different meaning: to keep or to hold.

So:

• Ek hou van koffie = I like coffee
• Ek hou 'n sakdoek in my sak = I keep a handkerchief in my pocket/bag

The little word van makes a big difference.

Afrikaans main clauses usually put the finite verb in the second position.

So the basic pattern here is:

• Ek = subject
• hou = verb
• altyd = adverb
• 'n skoon sakdoek = object
• in my sak = place

That makes Ek hou altyd ... very natural.

You can move other parts to the front for emphasis, but then the verb still stays second:

• Altyd hou ek 'n skoon sakdoek in my sak — possible, but less neutral
• In my sak hou ek altyd 'n skoon sakdoek — also possible for emphasis

The version you were given is the most straightforward everyday order.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, like English a or an.

A few important things about it:

• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It is normally not capitalized, even at the start of a sentence

So at the beginning of a sentence, you write:

• 'n Man staan daar.

Not:

• 'N Man staan daar.

This looks unusual to English speakers, but it is standard Afrikaans spelling.

Usually as a very weak, unstressed sound — something like uh or just a light n sound.

It is not pronounced like English an.

In normal speech, 'n skoon sakdoek is said very smoothly, with 'n barely stressed.

A good learner rule is:

• write it clearly
• pronounce it lightly

Because skoon is one of the adjectives that normally stays unchanged before a noun in Afrikaans.

So:

• 'n skoon sakdoek = a clean handkerchief

Afrikaans adjectives do sometimes change form, but not all of them do, and the system is much simpler than in languages with full adjective agreement.

The important practical point here is just:

• skoon is correct before sakdoek

So you should learn this chunk as:

• 'n skoon sakdoek

It can mean either, depending on context.

Common meanings of sak include:

• pocket
• bag
• sack

In this sentence, because a sakdoek is something you typically carry on your person, many learners will understand in my sak as in my pocket. But in some contexts it could also mean in my bag.

So the exact English word depends on the situation.

Afrikaans verbs change very little in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek hou
• jy hou
• hy hou
• ons hou
• hulle hou

Unlike English, there is no separate I keep / he keeps type of ending here.

That is one of the nice things about Afrikaans grammar: present-tense verb forms are usually much simpler than in English.

Yes. Sakdoek is a compound word:

• sak = pocket/bag
• doek = cloth

So historically it is basically a pocket cloth.

That is why it means handkerchief.

Compound words are very common in Afrikaans, so it is useful to notice them when you can.

Sometimes in loose everyday use, people may understand it broadly, but sakdoek most naturally means a handkerchief — a cloth one.

For a paper tissue, Afrikaans often uses words like:

• sneesdoekie
• tissue in modern everyday speech

So in this sentence, the most natural picture is a clean handkerchief, not a disposable tissue.

Sometimes yes, but the given order is the most natural neutral one.

The standard version is:

• Ek hou altyd 'n skoon sakdoek in my sak.

If you move altyd, the meaning usually stays similar, but the rhythm or emphasis changes. For example:

• Ek hou 'n skoon sakdoek altyd in my sak — understandable, but less natural
• Altyd hou ek 'n skoon sakdoek in my sak — more marked or emphatic

So as a learner, it is best to keep altyd where it is in the original sentence until that word order feels familiar.