Die verhouding verander met tyd.

Verhouding can mean several related things in Afrikaans, depending on context:

• relationship
• ratio
• proportion

So this sentence could mean The relationship changes over time or The ratio/proportion changes over time, depending on what was being discussed. That is a very common thing for learners to notice: one Afrikaans word often covers more than one English word.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

A useful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans does not change the article for gender the way some other languages do. So:

• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die kind = the child

It is also used for plural nouns:

• die kinders = the children

So in die verhouding, die simply means the.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

Compare:

• Ek verander = I change
• Jy verander = you change
• Die verhouding verander = the relationship changes

English adds -s in changes, but Afrikaans keeps verander unchanged. This is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar for English speakers.

Yes. This is a very normal basic word order:

• Die verhouding = subject
• verander = verb
• met tyd = adverbial/prepositional phrase

So the structure is:

Subject + Verb + Time-related phrase

That is very similar to English here.
Afrikaans often looks quite familiar in simple main clauses.

Literally, met tyd means with time.

In natural English, though, it usually corresponds to:

• over time
• with time
• as time passes

Yes, it is an idiomatic and natural expression in Afrikaans. It does not necessarily mean physical accompaniment by time; it means that something happens gradually or as time goes on.

Because met tyd is a fixed, idiomatic expression meaning over time / in time / as time passes.

If you say met die tyd, that would usually sound more specific, like with the time or with the times, depending on context, and it would not normally be the best choice for this sentence.

So:

• met tyd = over time
• met die tyd = a different, more specific idea

A rough pronunciation guide is:

verander ≈ fuh-RAHN-der

A few helpful notes:

• The v in Afrikaans is often pronounced more like an English f.
• The stress is usually on the second syllable: ver-AN-der.
• The r is an Afrikaans r, which may sound stronger or more rolled than in many English accents.

A rough pronunciation of the whole sentence is:

duh fuh-RAHN-duhng fuh-RAHN-der met tayt

That is only approximate, but it can help a beginner.

It can do both, depending on context.

In your sentence, it is used intransitively:

• Die verhouding verander met tyd.
• The relationship changes over time.

But it can also be used where something is being changed:

• Ons verander die plan.
• We change the plan.

So verander can mean both change and change something, depending on how it is used.

Yes, often you can.

Mettertyd is a single word meaning something like:

• eventually
• in time
• over time
• as time goes by

So a similar sentence would be:

• Die verhouding verander mettertyd.

That sounds natural too, although met tyd and mettertyd are not always identical in tone.
Very roughly:

• met tyd = with/over time
• mettertyd = in time / gradually / eventually

In standard Afrikaans, negation usually uses nie ... nie.

So:

• Die verhouding verander met tyd.
• Die verhouding verander nie met tyd nie.

This double nie pattern is a key feature of Afrikaans.
An English speaker often finds it unusual at first, but it becomes very regular once you get used to it.