Die vlooi en bosluis in die pels laat die hond krap.

In Afrikaans, when two nouns are joined by en and both are definite, the article is often used only once.

So Die vlooi en bosluis means the flea and tick, not the flea and a tick.

You could think of it as one die covering both nouns.

Afrikaans uses die for both the and, in other contexts, as a relative pronoun such as that/which. In this sentence, though, both examples are just the definite article the:

• die vlooi en bosluis = the flea and tick
• die pels = the fur
• die hond = the dog

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not have separate forms like the for singular and plural, or for different genders. Die works for all of them.

Normally it is understood to apply to both.

So the sense is:

• the flea and tick, both being in the fur

Even though the phrase comes after bosluis, it naturally refers to the whole pair. This is a common and normal way to phrase it.

In Afrikaans, verbs do not change form the way they do in English.

English distinguishes:

• the flea makes
• the fleas make

Afrikaans does not do that in the present tense:

• die vlooi laat
• die vlooie laat

So laat stays laat, whether the subject is singular or plural.

After laat meaning make/let/cause, Afrikaans normally uses the bare infinitive, without te.

So:

• laat die hond krap = makes the dog scratch

This is similar to English:

• makes the dog scratch not
• makes the dog to scratch

So the structure is completely normal.

Here laat means causes or makes.

So the sentence is saying that the flea and tick cause the dog to scratch.

Depending on context, laat can also mean:

• let
• allow
• leave

But in this sentence, cause/make is the right idea.

Krap is the infinitive/base form of the verb meaning scratch.

Because it follows laat, Afrikaans uses the plain verb form:

• laat ... krap

This is the normal causative pattern:

• Dit laat my lag = It makes me laugh
• Die vlooi laat die hond krap = The flea makes the dog scratch

In this sentence, it means the dog is scratching itself, or simply scratching in general.

Afrikaans often does not need a separate reflexive word where English might explain it more fully from context. Since dogs scratch because of fleas and ticks, the meaning is naturally understood.

They are two different parasites:

• vlooi = flea
• bosluis = tick

A learner may notice that English often says flea and tick in the plural in general statements, but Afrikaans can still use the singular if the speaker is referring to them as types or as a pair in a particular situation.

Yes.

The plurals are:

• vlooi → vlooie
• bosluis → bosluise

So a plural version could look like:

• Die vlooie en bosluise in die pels laat die hond krap.

That would mean The fleas and ticks in the fur make the dog scratch.

Afrikaans word order here follows a common pattern:

• subject + verb + object + infinitive

So:

• Die vlooi en bosluis = subject
• laat = finite verb
• die hond = object
• krap = infinitive

This is the normal order after laat in a main clause.

Yes.

Even though the nouns are definite, Afrikaans often uses die in ways that can sound more specific than English would use in the same situation. Depending on context, this sentence can feel like:

• The flea and tick in the fur make the dog scratch or more generally
• Fleas and ticks in the fur make the dog scratch

The exact nuance depends on the situation, but grammatically the sentence is perfectly natural.