Die piekniektafel is naby die ablusieblok.

Because both piekniektafel and ablusieblok are definite nouns here, so each one gets its own definite article.

• die piekniektafel = the picnic table
• die ablusieblok = the ablution block

Afrikaans does not usually “share” the article across two separate noun phrases in a sentence like this.

No. One very learner-friendly feature of Afrikaans is that die is used for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not need to learn different forms for the depending on masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural.

Examples:

• die tafel = the table
• die blok = the block
• die tafels = the tables

Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word. So piekniektafel is made from:

• piekniek = picnic
• tafel = table

Together they form piekniektafel = picnic table.

This is very common in Afrikaans:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• badkamerdeur = bathroom door
• ablusieblok = ablution block

For English speakers, this can feel unusual because English often writes the same idea as two words.

Ablusieblok usually refers to a building with shared washing and toilet facilities, especially at a campsite, caravan park, or similar place.

So it often means something like:

• toilet block
• shower block
• washroom block
• restroom block

The exact English wording depends on context, but the Afrikaans word normally points to that kind of shared facilities building.

In this sentence, naby means near or close to.

You do not need another preposition after it here. You can say:

• naby die ablusieblok = near the ablution block

So the structure is simply:

• is naby + noun phrase

Not:

• is naby aan die ablusieblok in this sentence

You may sometimes see naby aan in other contexts, but for a basic sentence like this, naby die ablusieblok is completely normal and natural.

Yes. Here is is the present-tense form of to be, just like English is.

So:

• Die piekniektafel is naby die ablusieblok = The picnic table is near the ablution block

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans uses is with all persons in the present tense:

• ek is = I am
• jy is = you are
• hy/sy is = he/she is
• ons is = we are
• hulle is = they are

That is much simpler than English.

The sentence follows a very straightforward main-clause pattern:

Subject + verb + complement/place phrase

So here:

• Die piekniektafel = subject
• is = verb
• naby die ablusieblok = location phrase

This is one of the most common and natural sentence patterns in Afrikaans.

Yes, you can, especially if you want to emphasize the location.

You can say:

Naby die ablusieblok is die piekniektafel.

Notice what happens: Afrikaans keeps the verb in the second position in a main clause, so when the location comes first, is still stays second, and the subject comes after it.

That word order is correct, but the original version is the more neutral, straightforward one.

This is a very common question.

• naby = near / close to
• by = at / by / with, depending on context

So:

• Die piekniektafel is naby die ablusieblok means the table is near the ablution block.
• Die piekniektafel is by die ablusieblok can sound more like the table is at the ablution block or located there.

In real life, the difference may be small, but naby more clearly expresses closeness rather than exact position.

Here are rough English-friendly guides:

• die ≈ dee
• piekniektafel ≈ PEEK-neek-TAH-fəl
• naby ≈ nah-BAY
• ablusieblok ≈ roughly ah-BLOO-see-blok

These are only approximations. The real Afrikaans vowels are not exactly the same as English ones, but this should help you say the sentence understandably.

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the way that languages like Dutch, German, or French do.

That means you do not need to learn different forms of the or adjective endings based on masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns here. In this sentence, both nouns simply take die.

For many English speakers, this is one of the easiest parts of Afrikaans grammar.