Die tentpenne en tentpale is langs die tent.

Because Afrikaans uses is for both singular and plural in the present tense of to be.

Examples:

• Die tent is daar. = The tent is there.
• Die tente is daar. = The tents are there.
• Die tentpenne en tentpale is langs die tent. = The tent pegs and tent poles are next to the tent.

So English changes is / are, but Afrikaans keeps is.

Die means the.

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So:

• die tentpenne en tentpale = the tent pegs and tent poles
• die tent = the tent

It appears twice because there are two separate definite noun phrases in the sentence:

1. the subject: die tentpenne en tentpale
2. the object of the preposition: die tent

Because one die can cover both nouns when they are joined by en.

So die tentpenne en tentpale means the tent pegs and tent poles.

You could also say die tentpenne en die tentpale, but that sounds more separate or more emphatic. The version with one die is natural and efficient.

Afrikaans usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• tent
  • penne becomes tentpenne
• tent
  • pale becomes tentpale

This is very common in Afrikaans, much more than in English. Where English often writes tent pegs and tent poles as two words, Afrikaans normally combines them into one word.

In compound nouns, the last part is usually the part that changes for plural.

So:

• tentpen → tentpenne
• tentpaal → tentpale

The first part, tent-, stays the same.

A useful way to see it is:

• pen → penne
• paal → pale

Then the full compounds follow that same pattern.

This is due to normal Afrikaans spelling patterns.

In paal, the aa shows a long vowel in a closed syllable. When the plural ending makes the syllable more open, Afrikaans often writes the vowel with a single letter instead:

• paal → pale

So the pronunciation pattern stays regular, even though the spelling changes.

This kind of change is common in Afrikaans and Dutch-related spelling systems.

Here langs means something like:

• next to
• beside
• alongside

So langs die tent means next to the tent.

Depending on context, langs can sometimes also have a sense like along, but in this sentence the natural meaning is next to / beside.

The sentence follows a very common Afrikaans pattern:

Subject + verb + prepositional phrase

So:

• Die tentpenne en tentpale = subject
• is = verb
• langs die tent = prepositional phrase

Afrikaans main clauses normally keep the finite verb in the second position. That is why is comes right after the subject.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

Afrikaans often allows you to move a phrase like langs die tent to the front for emphasis. But the finite verb still stays in the second position:

• Die tentpenne en tentpale is langs die tent.
• Langs die tent is die tentpenne en tentpale.

Both are correct. The first is the more neutral order.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• langs die tent = next to / beside the tent
• by die tent = at / near the tent

So if you want to say the pegs and poles are specifically beside the tent, langs is better. If you only mean they are somewhere near the tent, by could work.

Yes, basically.

En joins words or phrases, just like and:

• tentpenne en tentpale = tent pegs and tent poles

Also, just like in English, you normally do not put a comma before en when there are only two items.