Die polisiebeampte ondervra die getuie.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die polisiebeampte = the police officer
• die getuie = the witness

Afrikaans uses die for all genders and also for both singular and plural definite nouns. That is much simpler than in languages that have different forms for masculine, feminine, or plural.

Yes. Afrikaans often writes compound nouns as one word.

So polisiebeampte is made up of:

• polisie = police
• beampte = officer / official

Together, polisiebeampte means police officer.

This is very common in Afrikaans, and English speakers often need to get used to writing these combinations as a single word.

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

In English, you say:

• I interrogate
• he interrogates

In Afrikaans, the verb normally stays the same:

• ek ondervra
• hy ondervra
• hulle ondervra

So in Die polisiebeampte ondervra die getuie, the verb is simply ondervra, regardless of the subject being singular.

It is the present tense.

Depending on context, it can often be translated into English as either:

• The police officer questions the witness
• The police officer is questioning the witness

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might choose either the simple present or the present continuous.

The sentence follows the normal subject–verb–object order:

• Die polisiebeampte = subject
• ondervra = verb
• die getuie = object

So literally:

• The police officer
  • questions
    • the witness

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

Getuie means witness.

In this sentence, die getuie is the person being questioned by the police officer.

A useful point: Afrikaans nouns often do not show gender the way some other languages do, so getuie can refer to a witness without marking masculine or feminine in the noun itself.

Because Afrikaans does not need an auxiliary verb here.

English often says:

• The police officer is questioning the witness

Afrikaans can express that idea simply with the present tense verb:

• Die polisiebeampte ondervra die getuie

So there is no need for a separate word meaning is in this sentence.

You know it from the word order.

In this sentence:

• Die polisiebeampte comes before the verb, so it is the doer of the action
• die getuie comes after the verb, so it is the receiver of the action

So the meaning is:

• the police officer questions the witness

not:

• the witness questions the police officer

Afrikaans usually relies on position in the sentence rather than case endings to show this.

Not in this sentence.

Here, die clearly means the.

Afrikaans die is primarily the definite article. In some other contexts, learners may notice similar-looking forms in older or more formal language, but for normal everyday Afrikaans at this level, you should read die here simply as the.

The article would still be die, because Afrikaans uses die for both singular and plural definite nouns.

For example:

• Die polisiebeamptes ondervra die getuies.
• The police officers question the witnesses.

Notice:

• polisiebeampte → polisiebeamptes
• getuie → getuies

But die stays the same.

Not exactly.

• vra usually means ask
• ondervra means question, interrogate, or examine closely

So ondervra is more specific and often sounds more formal or more intense than vra.

That makes it a very suitable verb in a police context:

• Die polisiebeampte ondervra die getuie = the police officer is questioning/interrogating the witness