Die vergadering duur lank.

Yes. Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so here it means the.

A useful difference from English is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not have to learn different forms like masculine/feminine/neuter articles.

Examples:

• die vergadering = the meeting
• die vergaderings = the meetings

This is the normal Afrikaans main-clause order:

subject + verb + rest

So:

• Die vergadering = subject
• duur = verb
• lank = adverb/complement

Afrikaans also follows the usual verb-second pattern in main clauses. Since the subject comes first here, the verb naturally comes second.

Yes, duur can be both:

• an adjective meaning expensive
• a verb meaning to last

In this sentence, it is clearly the verb, because it comes in the verb position after the subject.

Compare:

• Die vergadering duur lank. = Here duur is a verb
• Die hotel is duur. = Here duur is an adjective meaning expensive

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

Lank means long / for a long time, depending on context.

In this sentence, it functions adverbially: it tells you about the duration of the action duur.

So:

• duur lank = lasts long / goes on for a long time

Afrikaans often uses the same basic form where English might distinguish between long and for a long time through phrasing.

Here it is being used adverbially.

It describes the verb duur, not the noun vergadering.

Compare:

• Die vergadering duur lank. = lank describes how long it lasts
• Dit is ’n lang vergadering. = lang describes the meeting itself as a long meeting

Notice the form difference:

• lang before a noun
• lank when used adverbially

This is a very common learner question.

In Afrikaans:

• lang is usually the form used before a noun
• lank is usually used predicatively or adverbially

So:

• ’n lang vergadering = a long meeting
• Die vergadering is lank.
• Die vergadering duur lank.

This -k form appears in several common words in Afrikaans, and it is something learners simply get used to over time.

Yes, but it is not exactly the same.

• Die vergadering duur lank focuses on duration: the meeting lasts a long time.
• Die vergadering is lank describes the meeting as long/lengthy.

In many situations they are very close in meaning, but duur lank is the more natural way to talk specifically about how long something continues.

No. In the present tense, Afrikaans verbs do not conjugate the way English verbs do.

So you get:

• Ek duur is not natural in meaning, but grammatically the verb form would still be duur
• Die vergadering duur
• Hulle duur would also keep duur if the verb made sense in context

More natural examples with another verb:

• Ek werk
• Jy werk
• Hy werk
• Ons werk

The verb form stays the same. That is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar.

Afrikaans usually uses double negation.

So the negative sentence is:

Die vergadering duur nie lank nie.

Pattern:

• verb
• nie
• rest
• final nie

This double nie ... nie structure is one of the most important features of standard Afrikaans.

Very commonly:

• Past: Die vergadering het lank geduur.
• Future: Die vergadering sal lank duur.

So:

• het ... geduur = past
• sal ... duur = future

Notice that in the past tense, Afrikaans often uses het plus a past participle:

• duur → geduur

A rough English-friendly guide is:

ver-GA-de-ring

A few notes:

• the stress is usually on GA
• the g in Afrikaans is a throat sound, not an English g
• the ending -ing is not exactly like English sing, but many learners start with a close approximation

A rougher pronunciation guide for the whole sentence could be:

duh ver-GAA-duh-ring deer lahng

But the biggest pronunciation points are:

• die is usually pronounced like dee
• duur has a long vowel, roughly like deer in many learner approximations
• g in vergadering is the Afrikaans guttural sound

Afrikaans nouns do not work with grammatical gender the way many European languages do.

So for practical purposes, you do not need to learn vergadering as masculine or feminine. You just learn the noun itself:

• vergadering = meeting

And the article stays the same:

• die vergadering

That makes noun learning easier than in many related languages.