Die noodprosedure sê dat almal die werkplek moet ontruim.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender or number. So die can mean:

• the procedure
• the workplace
• the people, etc.

In this sentence:

• Die noodprosedure = The emergency procedure
• die werkplek = the workplace

So even though English has only the, Afrikaans also uses the same word die in all these cases.

Noodprosedure is a compound noun, which is very common in Afrikaans.

It is made up of:

• nood = emergency / distress
• prosedure = procedure

So noodprosedure literally means emergency procedure.

Afrikaans often joins words together into one compound where English might use two separate words.

The circumflex in sê helps show pronunciation and distinguish the word clearly in writing.

• sê = say / says

It is pronounced differently from what an English speaker might expect from plain se. The accent signals that the vowel is pronounced more like a long eh sound.

So the accent is part of the normal spelling of the verb sê.

Dat means that.

In Afrikaans, after verbs like sê (say), you often introduce a subordinate clause with dat, just like in English:

• He says that everyone must leave.
• Hy sê dat almal moet vertrek.

So in your sentence:

• Die noodprosedure sê dat ...
• The emergency procedure says that ...

In everyday English, that is often omitted, but in Afrikaans dat is very commonly included.

This is because dat introduces a subordinate clause.

In a main clause, Afrikaans normally keeps the finite verb in the second position. But in a subordinate clause introduced by dat, the verb structure shifts toward the end.

So:

• main clause: Die noodprosedure sê ...
• subordinate clause: dat almal die werkplek moet ontruim

Here, moet and ontruim come at the end of the subordinate clause.

This is a very important Afrikaans word-order pattern.

Almal means everyone, everybody, or sometimes all people, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• dat almal die werkplek moet ontruim
• that everyone must evacuate the workplace

It refers to all the people who are in the workplace or affected by the emergency procedure.

After modal verbs like moet, Afrikaans uses the bare infinitive, not te.

So you get:

• moet ontruim = must evacuate
• kan gaan = can go
• wil help = want to help

Not:

• moet te ontruim ❌

This is similar to English, where we say must evacuate, not must to evacuate.

In this sentence, moet expresses obligation or necessity.

So it can be translated as:

• must
• have to

In an emergency-procedure context, must is usually the best translation because it sounds like a rule or instruction.

So:

• almal ... moet ontruim = everyone must evacuate

Sometimes moet can sound softer depending on context, but here it is clearly a requirement.

Ontruim means evacuate, empty, or clear out, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means:

• evacuate
• or more literally, clear out the workplace

So:

• die werkplek moet ontruim
• must evacuate the workplace

It is a useful word in safety and emergency contexts.

In this case, ontruim behaves like a normal verb.

It is built from:

• on- = a prefix that can give a reversing or removing sense
• truim = clear / tidy / make empty

But in modern Afrikaans, learners should usually treat ontruim as a single verb meaning evacuate or clear out.

So in this sentence, there is no need to separate anything.

Afrikaans verbs do not usually change form according to the subject the way English verbs sometimes do.

Compare English:

• I say
• he says

In Afrikaans:

• ek sê
• hy sê

The verb stays the same.

The same applies here:

• almal moet
• hy moet
• ons moet

So even though almal refers to many people, moet does not change form.

Yes, almal moet ontruim is possible, but it would be less specific.

• almal moet ontruim = everyone must evacuate / everyone must clear out
• almal die werkplek moet ontruim = everyone must evacuate the workplace

Including die werkplek makes it clear what has to be evacuated.

So the full sentence is more precise and more natural in a safety instruction.

Yes. Werkplek is another compound noun:

• werk = work
• plek = place

So werkplek literally means workplace.

Again, this is a very common Afrikaans pattern: two nouns combine into one word.

Sometimes in informal speech, speakers may leave out dat, but in standard written Afrikaans it is very natural and often preferred to keep it.

So this sentence:

• Die noodprosedure sê dat almal die werkplek moet ontruim.

is clear, standard, and completely natural.

For a learner, it is best to include dat in sentences like this until you become more familiar with when omission sounds natural.

The sentence can be divided into two parts:

1. Main clause:

   • Die noodprosedure sê
   • The emergency procedure says

2. Subordinate clause:

   • dat almal die werkplek moet ontruim
   • that everyone must evacuate the workplace

A simple structure map is:

• Subject: Die noodprosedure
• Verb: sê
• Subordinate clause introduced by: dat
• Inside the subordinate clause:
  • Subject: almal
  • Object: die werkplek
  • Modal verb: moet
  • Main infinitive: ontruim

This is a very useful pattern to recognize in Afrikaans.