Sy bly positief.

Here Sy means she. It is the subject pronoun of the sentence.

A useful extra note: lowercase sy can also mean his when it comes before a noun, for example sy boek = his book. But in Sy bly positief, it clearly means she because it is being used as the subject of the verb.

In this sentence, bly means stay or remain.

So Sy bly positief means that she continues to be positive, rather than just being positive at one moment.

Yes. Bly can also mean live or reside.

For example:

• Sy bly in Johannesburg. = She lives in Johannesburg.

But when bly is followed by an adjective, as in positief, it usually means remain/stay:

• Sy bly positief. = She stays/remains positive.

Is simply describes a state:

• Sy is positief. = She is positive.

Bly adds the idea of continuation:

• Sy bly positief. = She stays/remains positive.

So bly suggests that she continues being positive, perhaps despite difficulties or over a period of time.

Because bly is already the main verb.

It functions as a linking verb here, connecting Sy with the adjective positief. English works the same way with remain:

• She remains positive.

You would not say She remains is positive, and Afrikaans works similarly.

Because after a verb like is, bly, or word, Afrikaans normally uses the basic adjective form:

• Sy is positief.
• Sy bly positief.
• Sy word positief.

The form positiewe is usually used before a noun:

• 'n positiewe houding = a positive attitude
• 'n positiewe persoon = a positive person

So in Sy bly positief, positief is the correct form.

Yes. Both are good translations.

• She stays positive sounds a bit more everyday and conversational.
• She remains positive sounds a bit more formal.

The Afrikaans sentence can match either one, depending on context.

You say:

Sy bly nie positief nie.

Afrikaans usually uses double negation, so you often see two instances of nie:

• one before the part being negated
• one at the end of the clause

That is a very common Afrikaans pattern.

You can say:

Bly sy positief?

In a simple yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first and the subject after it.

So:

• Sy bly positief. = statement
• Bly sy positief? = question

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Sy ≈ say
• bly ≈ blay
• positief ≈ po-si-TEEF

So the whole sentence is roughly:

say blay po-si-TEEF

That is only an approximation, but it is a useful starting point for an English speaker.

Not necessarily. Positief can mean positive in several senses, depending on context, such as:

• optimistic
• favorable
• certain
• positive in a medical or test-result sense

But in Sy bly positief, the most natural meaning is usually that she stays optimistic or keeps a positive attitude.