Die vergrootglas lê by die sleutelgat.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die vergrootglas = the magnifying glass
• die sleutelgat = the keyhole

Afrikaans uses die for singular and plural, and it does not change for gender. That makes it much simpler than languages that have different forms for the.

Vergrootglas is a compound noun:

• vergroot = enlarge / magnify
• glas = glass

So vergrootglas literally means something like magnifying glass.

Compound nouns are very common in Afrikaans, just as they are in English and Dutch-related languages.

Here, lê means lies or more naturally in English, is lying or is located.

In this sentence, it describes the position of the magnifying glass. A very natural English translation is:

• The magnifying glass is lying by the keyhole
• or more simply, The magnifying glass is by the keyhole

Afrikaans often uses position verbs like:

• sit = sit
• staan = stand
• lê = lie

where English might often just use is.

Afrikaans often prefers a posture or position verb when describing where something is.

So instead of saying only is, Afrikaans may say:

• sit if something is in a sitting-type position
• staan if it is standing upright
• lê if it is lying flat or resting horizontally

A magnifying glass would typically be thought of as lying on a surface, so lê is natural.

This is one of the places where Afrikaans sounds more specific than English.

By usually means by, near, or at.

So by die sleutelgat means:

• by the keyhole
• near the keyhole
• sometimes at the keyhole, depending on context

In this sentence, it most naturally means the magnifying glass is positioned near the keyhole.

Yes. Sleutelgat is made of:

• sleutel = key
• gat = hole

So literally it is key-hole, just like English keyhole.

Afrikaans very often forms nouns this way, by joining smaller words into one larger word.

It follows the normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• Die vergrootglas = subject
• lê = verb
• by die sleutelgat = prepositional phrase showing location

So it is basically:

Subject + Verb + Place

That is very straightforward and similar to English in this sentence.

No. Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject.

So you would say:

• Ek lê
• jy lê
• die vergrootglas lê
• hulle lê

The verb form stays the same. This is much simpler than English, where you have I lie but it lies.

These verbs describe different kinds of position:

• lê = lie, be lying
• sit = sit, be sitting
• staan = stand, be standing

Examples:

• Die boek lê op die tafel. = The book is lying on the table.
• Die koppie staan op die tafel. = The cup is standing on the table.
• Die kat sit op die stoel. = The cat is sitting on the chair.

Afrikaans chooses the verb based on how something is positioned, not just the fact that it exists somewhere.

The ê shows a particular vowel sound. In Afrikaans, accent marks can help indicate pronunciation and sometimes distinguish words.

So lê is written with ê, and you should learn it as part of the spelling of the word.

For a learner, the most important thing is simply to remember:

• lê = lie / be lying

It is grammatically correct, but in everyday English it may sound slightly formal or literary.

More natural English translations would often be:

• The magnifying glass is by the keyhole.
• The magnifying glass is lying by the keyhole.
• The magnifying glass is near the keyhole.

So the literal translation helps you understand the Afrikaans grammar, but the best English version depends on style and context.

In standard Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced roughly like dee.

So:

• die ≈ dee

This is different from English die.

That is an important pronunciation point for English speakers, because the spelling looks familiar but the sound is not the same.

No. Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way languages like German do.

So you do not need to learn different forms of the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns. In this sentence, both nouns simply take die:

• die vergrootglas
• die sleutelgat

That is one of the reasons Afrikaans grammar is often considered relatively learner-friendly.