Die veiligheidsbeampte werk by die werkplek.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for all genders and for both many singular and plural nouns. It simply means the.

So in:

• die veiligheidsbeampte = the safety officer
• die werkplek = the workplace

Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the article for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Veiligheidsbeampte is a compound noun. Afrikaans makes compounds very freely, just like English does.

It is built from:

• veiligheid = safety
• beampte = officer / official

So:

• veiligheidsbeampte = safety officer

The -s- in the middle links the two parts. This is very common in Afrikaans compounds.

Because they are related but doing different jobs in the sentence.

• werk as a verb = to work
• werkplek as a noun = workplace

So:

• werk = works / is working
• werkplek = workplace

This is similar to English:

• She works at the workplace

Even though it sounds repetitive, it is completely normal.

Here by means at.

So:

• werk by die werkplek = works at the workplace

Afrikaans by often covers meanings that English expresses with at, by, or sometimes with, depending on context.

Examples:

• Ek werk by die skool. = I work at the school.
• Hy bly by sy ouma. = He stays with his grandmother.
• Sit by die tafel. = Sit by the table.

Using in would mean in/inside, which is a different idea.

Yes, in this simple main clause the word order is very similar to English:

• Die veiligheidsbeampte = subject
• werk = verb
• by die werkplek = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Prepositional phrase

This is one reason simple Afrikaans sentences can feel familiar to English speakers.

Because Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs.

The verb werk stays the same with different subjects in the present tense:

• Ek werk = I work
• Jy werk = you work
• Hy werk = he works
• Ons werk = we work

Afrikaans does not add an -s like English does in he works.

You know from the subject and the sentence context.

In this sentence:

• Die veiligheidsbeampte werk ...

The subject is singular, so in natural English this becomes works.

Afrikaans does not change the verb form, but English does. So the same Afrikaans verb form can correspond to different English forms:

• Ek werk = I work
• Die veiligheidsbeampte werk = the safety officer works

It depends on how the profession is being used.

If you mean a specific person, you often use die:

• die veiligheidsbeampte = the safety officer

But if you are saying what someone is, you usually do not use the indefinite article the same way English does:

• Hy is veiligheidsbeampte. = He is a safety officer.

That can feel unusual to English speakers, because English usually requires a/an there.

Not necessarily. Werkplek means workplace, which is a general term for the place where someone works.

It could be:

• an office
• a factory
• a warehouse
• a site
• any work location

So werkplek is broader than office.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• die ≈ dee
• veiligheidsbeampte ≈ fay-lukh-haits-bee-ump-tuh

A few useful notes:

• v in Afrikaans is often pronounced close to English f
• g is a throaty sound, not like English g
• ei/ey often sounds a bit like ay
• aa, ee, and other vowel spellings are important and should be learned as sound patterns

You do not need perfect pronunciation immediately, but the throaty g/ch sound is one of the biggest pronunciation differences from English.

You probably can in some contexts, but it changes the nuance.

• by die werkplek = at the workplace (location in a general sense)
• in die werkplek = in the workplace / inside the workplace

So by is the more natural choice if you simply mean where the person works.
In emphasizes being physically inside the place.

In the sentence, veiligheidsbeampte is singular: the safety officer.

A common plural would be:

• veiligheidsbeamptes = safety officers

So you could say:

• Die veiligheidsbeamptes werk by die werkplek. = The safety officers work at the workplace.

Afrikaans often forms plurals with -e or -s, but you have to learn the pattern for each noun. Here beampte becomes beamptes.