Die bestuurder rem versigtig.

Here, die is the definite article, so it means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular definite nouns: die bestuurder = the driver
• plural definite nouns: die bestuurders = the drivers

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not use different forms like the for singular vs. plural, because die works for both.

Bestuurder means driver.

It is related to the verb bestuur, which means to drive or to operate/control.
The ending -der forms a person noun here, so bestuurder is literally something like one who drives.

So:

• bestuur = drive / operate
• bestuurder = driver

No. Bestuurder is not marked for grammatical gender.

Afrikaans nouns generally do not have grammatical gender the way some other European languages do. So die bestuurder can refer to:

• a male driver
• a female driver

If needed, the context makes it clear.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form depending on the subject.

So you get:

• Ek rem = I brake
• Jy rem = you brake
• Hy rem = he brakes
• Ons rem = we brake

Unlike English, where you say he brakes with -s, Afrikaans keeps the verb form the same: rem.

In this sentence, rem is a verb meaning brake.

Afrikaans, like English, can use related forms as different parts of speech in different contexts. But here, because it comes after the subject die bestuurder, it is clearly the action word:

• Die bestuurder rem versigtig. = The driver brakes carefully.

Because versigtig is describing how the driver brakes, so it functions like an adverb: carefully.

Afrikaans often uses the same word for both:

• an adjective: ’n versigtige bestuurder = a careful driver
• an adverb-like word: Hy rem versigtig = He brakes carefully

So the structure is:

• Die bestuurder = subject
• rem = verb
• versigtig = manner word, describing the action

This is very natural word order in Afrikaans.

Because Afrikaans usually does not add a special ending like English -ly.

Very often, the same word can be used:

• before a noun as an adjective
• after a verb to describe the action

For example:

• ’n versigtige bestuurder = a careful driver
• Die bestuurder rem versigtig = The driver brakes carefully

So English changes careful to carefully, but Afrikaans often just uses versigtig.

The basic word order is:

Subject + Verb + Adverb

So:

• Die bestuurder = subject
• rem = verb
• versigtig = adverb / description of manner

This is similar to normal English word order in a simple statement:

• The driver brakes carefully.

A rough English-style guide is:

dee buh-STOY-duhr rem fuhr-SIKh-tikh

A few notes:

• die sounds like dee, not like English die
• ui in bestuurder is a special Afrikaans/Dutch-type vowel and can be tricky for English speakers
• g in versigtig is a throaty sound, not a hard English g

You do not need perfect pronunciation at first; being understood matters more.

Yes, but it means something a little different.

• Die bestuurder rem versigtig. = The driver brakes carefully.
• Die bestuurder bestuur versigtig. = The driver drives carefully.

So:

• rem focuses specifically on the action of braking
• bestuur refers more generally to driving

The normal Afrikaans negative uses nie ... nie.

So:

• Die bestuurder rem versigtig. = The driver brakes carefully.
• Die bestuurder rem nie versigtig nie. = The driver does not brake carefully.

This double nie pattern is a very important feature of Afrikaans.

You would say:

Die bestuurders rem versigtig.

Changes:

• bestuurder → bestuurders for the plural drivers
• die stays die
• rem stays rem, because the verb does not change for plural subjects

So Afrikaans keeps the sentence structure very simple.