Sy ondersoek die materiaal.

Here, Sy means she.

Afrikaans can be a little tricky because sy can also mean his in other contexts. But in this sentence, Sy ondersoek die materiaal, it is clearly the subject of the verb, so it means she.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject.

In English, we say:

• I examine
• you examine
• she examines

But in Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same:

• Ek ondersoek
• Jy ondersoek
• Sy ondersoek

So ondersoek is the correct form with sy.

Ondersoek means examine, investigate, or inspect, depending on context.

It can be used in both everyday and more formal situations. For example, it might refer to:

• examining a material in a lab
• investigating evidence
• inspecting an object carefully

So it has a slightly broader range than just one English word.

It can be both.

In this sentence, ondersoek is a verb: She examines / investigates the material.

But ondersoek can also be a noun, meaning investigation or examination, for example:

• Die ondersoek begin môre.
  The investigation begins tomorrow.

So the role depends on the sentence.

Die here means the.

Afrikaans has only one common definite article: die. Unlike some other languages, it does not change for gender. So the same word is used for:

• the man
• the woman
• the book
• the material

That makes articles in Afrikaans simpler than in many European languages.

Here, materiaal is singular in form, but like English material, it can refer to a substance or mass rather than one separate countable object.

So die materiaal usually means:

• the material
• the substance
• sometimes the fabric, depending on context

If you wanted plural materials, Afrikaans can also use materiale in some contexts, especially more formal or technical ones.

Yes. This is the basic subject–verb–object order:

• Sy = subject
• ondersoek = verb
• die materiaal = object

So it follows the same basic pattern as English:

• She examines the material.

This is the standard word order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans.

A rough guide is ON-duhr-sook.

A few helpful points:

• onder- sounds a bit like under, but not exactly
• soek sounds like sook with a long oo sound, somewhat like the vowel in book stretched out, though pronunciation can vary by accent

If you are learning carefully, it is best to hear it from native audio, but ON-duhr-sook is a useful approximation.

Yes, it can, depending on context.

Materiaal can refer to:

• material in a general sense
• raw material
• fabric or cloth
• study material or source material in some contexts

So the exact English translation depends on what kind of material is being talked about.

You would normally use the Afrikaans double negative:

Sy ondersoek nie die materiaal nie.

This means She does not examine the material.

Notice the two nie words:

• one after the verb phrase
• one at the end of the clause

That double negative pattern is a very important feature of standard Afrikaans.

In a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

Ondersoek sy die materiaal?

This means Does she examine the material? or Is she examining the material?, depending on context.

So the statement:

• Sy ondersoek die materiaal.

becomes the question:

• Ondersoek sy die materiaal?

Yes, especially at the beginning of a sentence.

Lowercase sy can mean:

• she
• his

At the start of a sentence, both become Sy, so the capital letter does not help you tell them apart.

You have to use grammar to decide. In Sy ondersoek die materiaal, it must mean she, because it is followed by a verb and acts as the subject. If it meant his, you would expect a noun after it, such as:

• Sy boek = His book