Ek skakel mobiele data aan.

It follows a very common Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

• Ek = subject
• skakel = the finite verb
• mobiele data = the object
• aan = the separable particle

So the pattern is basically:

subject + verb + object + particle

This is normal for separable verbs in Afrikaans.

Because aanskakel is a separable verb.

In a main clause, Afrikaans usually puts the finite verb early in the sentence, and the separable part goes to the end:

• Ek skakel mobiele data aan.

But when the verb stays in its full infinitive form, it is written as one word:

• Ek wil mobiele data aanskakel.

So aan is not randomly placed at the end. It belongs to the verb aanskakel.

Yes. The dictionary form is aanskakel.

Afrikaans separable verbs often behave like this:

• dictionary form: aanskakel
• main clause: skakel ... aan
• past participle: aangeskakel

Examples:

• Ek skakel dit aan.
• Ek wil dit aanskakel.
• Ek het dit aangeskakel.

So learners should think of skakel ... aan and aanskakel as the same verb in different forms.

By itself, skakel can have meanings like switch, connect, or sometimes contact/call, depending on context.

But in this sentence, the important expression is skakel ... aan, which means switch on or turn on.

A useful opposite is:

• skakel ... af = switch off / turn off

For example:

• Ek skakel mobiele data af.

Because mobiel is an adjective placed before a noun, and in Afrikaans that usually means it takes -e.

So:

• mobiel = basic form
• mobiele data = adjective before the noun

Compare:

• Die toestel is mobiel.
• die mobiele toestel

That -e ending is very common with adjectives before nouns in Afrikaans.

Because mobiele data can be used in a general or uncountable sense, much like English mobile data.

So Ek skakel mobiele data aan is perfectly natural.

But you can make it more specific:

• Ek skakel die mobiele data aan.
• Ek skakel my mobiele data aan.

The version without an article sounds a bit more general, and it is especially natural in tech or settings language.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Afrikaans simple present often covers both:

• I switch mobile data on
• I am turning mobile data on

If you want to stress that the action is happening right now, Afrikaans can use a fuller form such as:

• Ek is besig om mobiele data aan te skakel.

But in everyday language, the simple present is often enough.

Afrikaans normally uses double negation.

So the negative is:

• Ek skakel nie mobiele data aan nie.

Notice the two nie words:

1. one after the verb
2. one near the end of the sentence

That double-negative pattern is a key feature of standard Afrikaans.

Most often, Afrikaans uses a perfect form for the past:

• Ek het mobiele data aangeskakel. = I switched / have switched mobile data on

For the future:

• Ek sal mobiele data aanskakel. = I will switch mobile data on

Notice that with sal, the infinitive appears as one word again:

• aanskakel

Yes, mobiele data is natural and widely understood.

But in everyday speech, people may also say things like:

• my data
• selfoondata

And many speakers also use sit ... aan in casual speech:

• Ek sit my data aan.

So Ek skakel mobiele data aan is correct and clear, but everyday speech may sometimes be slightly shorter or more casual.

Not in the normal neutral sentence.

The standard order is:

• Ek skakel mobiele data aan.

Not:

• Ek skakel aan mobiele data.

With this separable verb, the object normally comes before the particle aan.

You can move things around for emphasis, but the ordinary pattern is still the one in the original sentence.

For a yes/no question, move the verb to the front:

• Skakel ek mobiele data aan?

For a command:

• Skakel mobiele data aan.

So the same separable-verb pattern stays visible:

• finite verb first
• aan at the end

That makes it easier to recognize once you get used to it.