Volgens die dokter is sy gesond.

Volgens means according to or in the opinion of.

So Volgens die dokter means According to the doctor.

It tells you where the information is coming from. It does not mean the speaker is personally confirming it as a fact; it means the doctor is the source of the statement.

Afrikaans often puts a phrase at the beginning of the sentence to set the context or emphasis.

Here, Volgens die dokter is placed first to highlight the source of the information:

Volgens die dokter is sy gesond.
= According to the doctor, she is healthy.

This is very natural in Afrikaans.

This is a very common Afrikaans word order pattern.

Afrikaans follows a verb-second rule in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

• First element: Volgens die dokter
• Second element: is
• Then the subject: sy

So:

Volgens die dokter + is + sy + gesond

If the sentence started with the subject instead, you would get:

Sy is gesond.
= She is healthy.

But once another element is moved to the front, the verb still stays in second position.

Here sy means she.

Afrikaans sy can also mean his in other contexts, which can be confusing:

• sy is gesond = she is healthy
• sy boek = his book

So how do you tell the difference? Look at the sentence structure:

• In is sy gesond, sy is standing alone as a pronoun after the verb, so it is the subject she.
• If sy came before a noun, like sy dokter or sy boek, it would be possessive: his doctor, his book.

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender the way languages like German or Dutch do.

Die is the definite article for basically all nouns:

• die dokter = the doctor
• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kinders = the children

So you do not have to learn different words for the based on gender.

Because gesond is being used after the verb is. In that position, Afrikaans adjectives usually stay in their basic form.

• Sy is gesond. = She is healthy.

But when an adjective comes before a noun, it often takes -e:

• 'n gesonde vrou = a healthy woman

So:

• predicative adjective (after is) → gesond
• attributive adjective (before a noun) → often gesonde

That is why Volgens die dokter is sy gesond uses gesond, not gesonde.

Yes. Gesond is an adjective meaning healthy.

In this sentence it is a predicate adjective, because it comes after is and describes sy.

So the structure is:

• sy = subject
• is = verb
• gesond = adjective describing the subject

Yes. That is also understandable and natural.

Compare:

• Volgens die dokter is sy gesond.
• Sy is gesond, volgens die dokter.

Both mean the same thing overall, but the emphasis is slightly different.

• Volgens die dokter is sy gesond puts the source first.
• Sy is gesond, volgens die dokter states the claim first and adds the source afterward.

The version you were given is a very normal way to say it.

Usually, in a short Afrikaans sentence like this, no comma is needed:

Volgens die dokter is sy gesond.

In English, a comma after According to the doctor is very common. Afrikaans is often lighter with commas in this kind of structure.

So the sentence as written is perfectly normal.

Sy is pronounced roughly like sigh in English.

So:

• sy ≈ sigh

That can be surprising, because English speakers may want to pronounce it like see or sih, but that would not be correct here.

It is neutral and completely standard.

It works in everyday speech and writing. It is neither especially formal nor especially casual.

If you wanted a slightly more explicit version, you could also say:

Die dokter sê sy is gesond.
= The doctor says she is healthy.

But Volgens die dokter is sy gesond is a very normal standard Afrikaans sentence.