Sy knip die patroondeel uit.

Because uitknip is a separable verb in Afrikaans.

The full verb is uitknip = to cut out, but in a normal main clause the verb splits:

• knip goes to the usual verb position
• uit moves to the end

So:

• Sy knip die patroondeel uit.

This is very similar to separable verbs in Dutch and a bit like English phrasal verbs such as cut out.

Compare:

• Ek knip dit uit.
• Sy knip die patroondeel uit.

In the past participle, it comes back together in a different form:

• Sy het die patroondeel uitgeknip.

Here Sy means she.

A learner may notice that sy can also mean his in other contexts, so context matters.

Examples:

• Sy knip die patroondeel uit. = She cuts out the pattern piece.
• sy hemp = his shirt

In this sentence, because Sy is the subject before the verb knip, it clearly means she.

It is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

If it appeared later in the sentence, it would normally be lowercase:

• Ek sien sy knip die patroondeel uit.

So the capital letter does not change the meaning.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for different persons in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek knip
• Jy knip
• Hy knip
• Sy knip
• Ons knip

This is much simpler than English, where you say I cut but she cuts. In Afrikaans, the verb stays the same.

Die means the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

So die can mean the whether the noun is one thing or more than one.

Here:

• die patroondeel = the pattern piece

If it were indefinite, Afrikaans would usually use 'n:

• 'n patroondeel = a pattern piece

Yes. Afrikaans usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• patroon = pattern
• deel = part / piece
• patroondeel = pattern piece / pattern part

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans commonly joins them.

It means a piece of a pattern or pattern piece, especially in a sewing or dressmaking context.

So if someone is working with a sewing pattern, one individual section of that pattern can be called a patroondeel.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• pattern piece
• part of the pattern

Knip usually suggests cutting with scissors or snipping.

That fits very well with a patroondeel, because pattern pieces are typically cut out with scissors.

A different Afrikaans verb, sny, often refers more generally to cutting, especially with a knife or blade.

So in this sentence, knip ... uit is a very natural choice for cut out.

A common past form would be:

• Sy het die patroondeel uitgeknip.

Notice what happens:

• Afrikaans often uses het
  • past participle
• the separable verb uitknip becomes uitgeknip

So:

• present: Sy knip die patroondeel uit.
• past: Sy het die patroondeel uitgeknip.

You know it is singular because of the noun form patroondeel itself.

Afrikaans die can be both singular and plural, so the noun usually tells you which one it is.

Here:

• patroondeel = singular
• patroondele would be plural

So:

• die patroondeel = the pattern piece
• die patroondele = the pattern pieces

The sentence follows the normal Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

• Subject + finite verb + object + separable particle

So here:

• Sy = subject
• knip = finite verb
• die patroondeel = object
• uit = separable particle

That gives:

• Sy knip die patroondeel uit.

This is a very common structure in Afrikaans when a separable verb is used in a main clause.