Ná die afskop het die teenstander balbesit.

After the kick-off, the opponent has possession.

Breakdown of Ná die afskop het die teenstander balbesit.

• hê: to have
• ná: after
• die teenstander: opponent
• die afskop: kick-off

Questions & Answers about Ná die afskop het die teenstander balbesit.

What does Ná mean, and why does it have an accent?

Ná means after.

The accent helps distinguish it from na, which usually means to or towards.

So:

• ná die afskop = after the kickoff
• na die stadion = to the stadium

In writing, the accent is useful because it prevents confusion between two very common words.

Why is the word order Ná die afskop het die teenstander ... instead of Ná die afskop die teenstander het ...?

This is a very common Afrikaans word-order pattern.

When a phrase like Ná die afskop comes first, the finite verb usually comes next. This is often called the verb-second pattern.

So the structure is:

• Ná die afskop = first element
• het = finite verb
• die teenstander = subject

That is why you get:

• Ná die afskop het die teenstander balbesit.

If you start with the subject instead, then the order is more like:

• Die teenstander het ná die afskop balbesit.

Both are possible, but the first version emphasizes the time phrase after the kickoff.

Does het mean has here, or is it a past tense marker?