Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan.

Yes. In this sentence, die means the both times:

• die werkgewer = the employer
• die kandidaat = the candidate

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all genders. Unlike German, you do not have to learn different forms like masculine, feminine, or neuter articles for nouns in the singular. That makes Afrikaans much simpler here.

In many situations, die is also used with plural nouns, so it is a very common word.

The sentence follows the normal main-clause pattern:

Subject + verb + object + separated verb particle

So here:

• Die werkgewer = subject
• stel = the finite verb
• die kandidaat = object
• aan = the second part of the verb

If you ignore for a moment that aanstel is a separable verb, the structure is basically like English The employer appoints the candidate.

Because the full verb is aanstel, which is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

In a normal main clause, separable verbs split up:

• aanstel → stel ... aan

So:

• Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan.

This is very common in Afrikaans and closely resembles separable verbs in Dutch and German.

A few more examples of the same pattern:

• Ek trek my jas aan. = I put my coat on.
• Sy nooi hulle uit. = She invites them.

So aan is not a separate preposition here. It is part of the verb aanstel.

In this sentence, aanstel means something like:

• appoint
• hire
• employ

The exact best English translation depends on context. In a formal job context, it can mean appoint or hire. So even if the meaning has already been given to you, it is useful to know that this verb is often used for officially putting someone into a job or position.

No, not in the same way English does.

Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in the present tense. The verb form usually stays the same regardless of the subject:

• Ek stel aan
• Jy stel aan
• Hy/Sy stel aan
• Ons stel aan
• Hulle stel aan

So stel does not become a different form like English appoints with he/she/it.

That is one of the big simplifications in Afrikaans grammar.

Yes. Werkgewer is a compound noun:

• werk = work
• gewer = giver

So it literally means something like work-giver, which corresponds to employer.

Afrikaans makes a lot of compound nouns this way, and recognizing the parts can really help your vocabulary.

It can refer to any gender, depending on context.

Afrikaans nouns are not grammatically gendered in the way nouns are in some other languages. So die kandidaat can mean a male candidate, a female candidate, or simply a candidate when gender is not being specified.

Also, the article die does not change based on gender.

Because Afrikaans does not capitalize all nouns.

Only the first word of the sentence is capitalized here because it starts the sentence:

• Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan.

The nouns werkgewer and kandidaat stay lowercase unless they are part of a title or otherwise need capitalization for a special reason.

This is different from German, even though Afrikaans and German are related languages.

A standard negative sentence in Afrikaans usually uses nie ... nie:

• Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat nie aan nie.

This is one of the most distinctive features of Afrikaans. You normally place one nie after the object or main part of the clause, and another nie at the end.

So:

• positive: Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan.
• negative: Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat nie aan nie.

The full dictionary form is aanstel.

You often see the unsplit form in places like infinitives or subordinate clauses.

For example:

• Die werkgewer wil die kandidaat aanstel.
  = The employer wants to appoint the candidate.

Here aanstel stays together because it is an infinitive after wil.

So learners often need to remember two views of the same verb:

• dictionary form: aanstel
• main clause form: stel ... aan

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

duh VAIRK-ghay-vur stel dee kan-di-DAAT oun

A few helpful notes:

• werk has a sound a bit like the e in English bed, but with an r before the k
• g in Afrikaans is usually a harsh throat sound, not the English g in go
• kandidaat has stress near the end: kan-di-DAAT
• aan sounds somewhat like ahn or a broad aun, depending on accent

Pronunciation varies by speaker, but the biggest thing for English speakers is usually getting used to the Afrikaans g/ch sound.

Not perfectly.

A word-for-word breakdown is:

• Die = the
• werkgewer = employer
• stel = appoints / hires
• die kandidaat = the candidate
• aan = part of aanstel

The important point is that aan is not really functioning as a separate English word here. English does not usually split the verb in this way, but Afrikaans does.

So it is better to think of the sentence as:

• The employer appoints the candidate or
• The employer hires the candidate

rather than trying to translate each individual piece too mechanically.