Ek gaan die saldo na.

Because the full verb is nagaan, which means to check / inspect / verify. This is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a normal main clause, the verb splits:

• gaan goes to the usual verb position
• na moves to the end

So:

• nagaan → Ek gaan die saldo na.

No. In this sentence, gaan ... na together is the verb nagaan.

That can be confusing, because gaan by itself often means go, and it can also be used to talk about the near future. But here, the na at the end shows that this is not the future construction. It is the separable verb nagaan.

The sentence follows a very common Afrikaans pattern:

• Ek = subject
• gaan = finite verb
• die saldo = object
• na = separated verb particle

So the structure is:

Subject + finite verb + object + particle

This is normal for separable verbs in main clauses.

When the verb appears as an infinitive or past participle, it usually stays together:

• nagaan = to check
• nagegaan = checked

For example:

• Ek wil die saldo nagaan. = I want to check the balance.
• Ek het die saldo nagegaan. = I checked / have checked the balance.

So the split only happens in certain sentence structures.

Die means the.

Afrikaans does not use different forms of the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns, so die works very broadly.

In this sentence:

• die saldo = the balance

Saldo means balance, usually in a financial sense.

For example, it can refer to:

• a bank balance
• an account balance
• the remaining amount on a statement or bill

So die saldo most naturally means the balance of an account or similar financial record.

Yes, that is a useful comparison.

English has combinations like:

• check over
• look up
• find out

Afrikaans separable verbs work in a somewhat similar way: a verb combines with a small extra part, and in main clauses that extra part may move to the end.

So nagaan is one verb in meaning, even though it appears as gaan ... na in the sentence.

You know from the combination and the sentence pattern.

If gaan were just the ordinary verb to go, then na would normally function as a preposition and would usually be followed by something, as in:

• Ek gaan na die bank. = I am going to the bank.

But in Ek gaan die saldo na, the na is not introducing a noun phrase. Instead, it completes the separable verb nagaan. That is why the sentence means I check the balance, not I go after the balance.